Former world champion Anthony Joshua admits that he wasn't fully focused when he entered the ring against Andy Ruiz back on June 1 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Joshua was shocked, as were most boxing fans, when Ruiz dropped him four times to secure a seventh round stoppage.
The victory gave Ruiz the WBA, WBO, IBF, IBO heavyweight titles.
Joshua was not happy with referee Mike Griffin's decision to stop the fight in the seventh.
"I didn't really know where I was other than in the corner but I had my arms back over the ropes waiting for the gum shield to replaced. The referee should not have expected me to fight on without it. I just saw the gumshield lying on the floor," Joshua told JD Sports.
Joshua would later admit that he wasn't mentally in tune for Ruiz - because he was already thinking ahead to a full unification with WBC world champion Deontay Wilder.
This time around, for the planned rematch at year's end, Joshua says his full focus will be on getting revenge.
"My mind was not fully on Ruiz but partly on the fight for the undisputed title against Deontay Wilder which was due next. But now we have this massive rematch and I will train differently for Andy. This time I will be ready to unleash the beast," Joshua said.
"This defeat has told me I must make my own decisions about everything inside the ring and around me outside. I was down to 40 percent of myself after that early punch behind the ear and had never felt like that before in my life. I was deep into an uphill struggle but I would still rather have lost flat on my back than like that."
