Will Anthony Joshua be able to handle the pressure?
On Saturday, December 7th Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr (Andrés Ponce Ruiz Jr) face off for the 2nd time for the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight championship titles. Joshua Previously held the 4 championship belts, successfully attaining and defending them against his competitors...until he faced Andy ‘The Destroyer’ Ruiz. Joshua faced defeat via technical knockout in the 7th round of the fight, making Ruiz the first ever Mexican heavyweight champion and making history at Madison Square Garden, New York. Now Joshua will enter a battle with Ruiz to become a 2-time heavyweight champion.
Would Anthony Joshua feel pressure in this rematch?
Photograph: Al Bello/Getty Images
Joshua is a seasoned fighter and has a great record of 22-1. He previously stated in an interview with Sky News that he doesn’t get nervous. But does that mean he won’t feel the pressure in this fight? And why would he feel pressure?
The stakes are higher in this match. The initial loss broke his streak as an undefeated professional fighter. This resulted in many people questioning Joshua’s boxing ability and whether he was truly deservant of being the heavyweight champion for so long. His reputation, and more importantly, his legacy is on the line in this rematch. If he views this fight as a threat to his reputation and legacy, then it’s only logical that he would experience pressure coming into this event.
We may never know what is going through Anthony’s head, but here are the processes he may go through that would lead him to experience pressure before the fight begins:
Before the fight, Joshua would have identified the demands of the situation. For example, the demand of beating Ruiz, landing powerful punches and out-manoeuvring Ruiz’s fast punch combinations. However, pressure may be experienced if he doesn’t believe he possesses the resources to meet these demands. For example, he doesn’t believe he has the boxing IQ to identify openings presented by Ruiz that would help him land his punches. The imbalance between the demands of the situation and whether the athlete believes they have the resources to cope with the demands is what can lead to pressure.
After this, Joshua may start to think about the consequences of not meeting the demands. For example, not being able to utilise his strengths or having his weaknesses exposed by Ruiz (which was seemingly done in his first fight against Ruiz), which can lead to a loss.
Finally, Joshua may start to think about what the meaning of these consequences would be. This can range from disappointing his fans to losing his sponsors and ruining his reputation.
In summary, here are the processes Anthony Joshua may go through that could lead to him experiencing pressure before the fight begins:
Believing he doesn’t have the resources to meet what he thinks the demands of the situation are.
Contemplating what the consequences of not meeting these demands are.
Thinking about the meaning of these consequences.
So, will Joshua be able to handle the pressure?
In short, yes! But here’s why.
The difference between those who may thrive under pressure and those who may crumble under it comes down to how they view the pressured situation. There are a range of factors that can influence how Joshua could view the situation, but we’ll focus on these 3 factors:
Self-belief
Motivation
Sense of control
Photograph: Nick Potts/PA
Self-belief
If Joshua had low levels of self-belief in his ability to beat his opponent then he’d most likely view his rematch against Ruiz as a threat. But this isn’t the case for Joshua. His self-belief is considerably high for multiple reasons. Arguably, his loss against Ruiz would be a reason for him to experience lower self-belief. This is because past performances can have the biggest impact on an athlete’s level of self-belief. However, he may not have interpreted his loss so negatively. One way he may have protected his self-belief following his loss was from attributing his loss to something that wasn’t in his control. For example, the relatively little preparation time he had for Ruiz after Jarrell Miller was dropped from the original fight. Alternatively, he may have taken his loss as a learning experience and used it as an opportunity to reflect. This process of understanding why he lost and attributing his defeat to things he can change in the future, may have prevented him experiencing lower self-belief.
Let’s not forget, before this fight Joshua was undefeated and won 21 out of 22 victories by knockout, beating the likes of Vladimir Klitschko and Dillian Whyte. His number of fight wins (22) outweighing his losses (1) may protect against the impact his loss could’ve had on his self-belief. Additionally, Joshua has been sparring with multiple opponents during his preparation to try and simulate the different fight scenarios he will face against Ruiz. This would provide him experiences where he is mastering certain skills and strategies, which will increase his self-belief.
Finally, having role models that show it’s possible to come back and perform optimally, even when others doubt you, can help keep his level of self-belief high. Joshua mentions looking at the example of Tiger Woods being strong and believing in his own ability to come back as a role model for his situation. This, alongside models like Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali, who were beaten in their careers and came back, serve to give Joshua the self-belief he needs to help him handle the pressure.
Motivation
Athletes who are motivated by goals to avoid something, rather than approaching something, are more likely to view the pressured situation as a threat. It’s interesting to note that Joshua says he used to focus on ‘not losing’, and this represents a motivation to avoid. From this, you’d think he is less likely to handle the pressure in the rematch. But in a more recent interview, Joshua actually says he has switched his focus to an approach one. He says he’ll ‘‘focus on winning’. Athletes who go through this process of altering their approach to achieving the same goal (e.g., victory) are more likely to view the pressured situation as a challenge. Therefore, Joshua is more likely to view this fight as a challenge, rather than a threat. But, it’s important to note that in his interview with Sky Boxing, he’s mentioned avoidance motivation terms, like “The fear of losing drives you to win” and being “…cautious of not getting hit”. So, there may be some level of avoidance motivation in the goals he has set himself for the fight.
Sense of control
Anthony Joshua is known for focusing on what he can control. Essentially, controlling the controllables. What separates those who would view pressure as a threat as opposed to a challenge is the degree of control they believe they have. Athletes who spend their time believing and focusing on what they can’t control, like whether their opponent will perform at their best or if they’ll be lucky, are more likely to view the situation as a threat. But, a boxer, such as AJ, who is more likely to focus on his preparation, effort and utilising his boxing skills (things he’s able to control), is more likely to view the fight as a challenge. Joshua’s focus on what he can control can be seen through talks during his preparation period, e.g., “I gotta focus on myself”, and what he attributes his failures to. This in turn will help him handle the pressure well.
Joshua’s additional tools
It seems Joshua has an arsenal of tools that will help him handle the pressure of the rematch. This is also helped by him talking to Vladmir Klitcschko, who advised him to avoid going on his phone and listening to external opinions (which are sources of stress). This can prevent him focusing on things unrelated to the fight and spending less time thinking about the expectations of others, and the potential consequences. Additionally, the positive self-talk used by Joshua, like “I know I’m good” (1:44) and “I know I’m built for boxing...I know I’m built to be a king” (7:40) can protect him against the negative impact stress and anxiety has on performance.
The final question is, will everything Joshua’s experienced be enough for him to handle the pressure of the fight? The short answer is, probably. These experiences and tools serve as resources he can draw upon before competition. Alternatively, he may not even experience intense pressure. The process of experiencing pressure starts with the athlete believing they don’t have enough coping resources to match the demands of the situation. So if Joshua reflects back to his preparation and the range of coping resources at his disposal, it’s logical to think he won’t feel like he’s under intense pressure. However, if he is under intense pressure, he’s less likely to view it as a threat to his performance.
Can we expect Joshua to reclaim his champion status? There’s only one way to really find out!
Article by Edgar Chekera