Anthony Joshua wants to get his boxing “passion back”

Anthony Joshua says he is determined to get his “passion” back for boxing ahead of his rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr later this year.

The British heavyweight lost his WBA, IBF and WBO world titles with a shock defeat by Ruiz on 1 June.

That was the first professional loss of Joshua’s career and the 29-year-old is desperate to prove it was a one off.

“I feel strong enough and I feel I can correct my wrongs,” Joshua told Sky Sports.

“I need to be around as many boxing people as possible because right now I need to soak in the experience and knowledge – and get that passion back.”

Joshua’s first bout with Ruiz took place at Madison Square Garden in New York and was the Briton’s first fight in the United States.

His promoter wants the rematch to take place in Cardiff at the Principality Stadium, but Ruiz has insisted he does not want to fight in the UK.

“It doesn’t matter to me where it is,” Joshua said.

“I would love it to be in Cardiff but it’s going to be on neutral ground, Ruiz is the champ so he will make some calls in that situation but I’m going to battle for it to be in the UK because it’s my stomping ground.

“Walking out in Cardiff in front of 70, 80, 90 thousand people screaming and rooting for you to win, that type of energy that goes through your body is unstoppable and I think that could give me the little bit of edge I need to win those belts.”