Anthony Joshua reveals there was a secret reason behind his shock knockout defeat by Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019

Anthony Joshua has claimed that there was a secret reason behind his shock knockout defeat by Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019.

During his press conference on Thursday afternoon to promote his fight with American heavyweight boxer Jermaine Franklin, AJ eluded to the fact there was a secret reason behind his shock TKO defeat to Ruiz in 2019. 

The 33-year-old went on to add: ‘You can watch as much as you want but until you face me you never know.’

AJ made it clear he had never spoken about the real reason behind his defeat before. But, he did previously speak about an underlying health condition in 2019. 

Speaking to the BBC, Joshua explained how he had a health issue leading up to the 2019 fight – which saw him lose his WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO titles. 

AJ said: ‘I had some issue with my health which I was going through for a long time. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I felt so tired and drained and thought it must be down to training.

‘In the changing room before the fight I got a bucket of ice and was putting my head in it thinking ‘why do I feel so tired?’

‘The responsibilities of being world champion are difficult. All that stuff, feeling so tired, dealing with obligations.

He went on to add: ‘After my check-ups it showed what the problem was and this is what you have to get sorted.’

Meanwhile, Robert McCracken – Joshua’s trainer at the time – said he was aware Joshua was ‘concussed’ against the heavy-handed Mexican before making a U-turn on his comments. 

Joshua went on to reclaim his titles six months later – beating Ruiz in their rematch after the Mexican admitted to under-preparing for their fight.