Anthony Joshua has denied suggestions that he had a panic attack shortly before his defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday night.
Joshua relinquished his IBF, WBO and WBA heavyweight titles to the Mexican-American in the seventh round TKO defeat.
In a video released on his YouTube channel, the 29-year-old also said that he will not be making any changes to his coaching team.
"I took my first loss. How to explain that feeling?" said Joshua.
"It's happened to me before (in amateur boxing) but I feel like those times I lost years back have made me a stronger person.
"It hasn't really changed me and my work ethic, my mindset and what I stand for; the people I'm still loyal to, my trainer Robert McCracken and my amateur coach at Finch ABC. I still want to work with these guys. They are still going to teach me everything I need to know."
Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn announced on Tuesday evening that a rematch between his fighter and Ruiz Jr will take place later this year. Joshua said that he does not mind if that fight takes place in England or in New York.
After meetings with AJ, Rob Mc and the management team in NY, we have today triggered the contracted rematch clause with Andy Ruiz Jnr. The fight will take place in Nov/Dec at a venue to be confirmed shortly.
— Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) June 4, 2019
"I know there's a lot of worries about what was wrong with me but I want to tell you this: I'm a soldier and I have to take my ups and my downs," added Joshua.
"On Saturday I took a loss and I have to take it like a man. One of my sayings is, 'Never let success get to your head and never let failures get to your heart'. It's all about keeping a balance and moving forward.
"I have to take my loss like a man, no blaming anyone or anything. I'm the one who went in there to perform and my performance didn't go to plan."
Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
