Johnny Nelson tells Anthony Joshua to take a break from boxing to recover from losses to Oleksandr Usyk

Johnny Nelson has urged Anthony Joshua to take a year off from boxing after back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk.

Joshua lost his world titles to the Ukrainian in September 2021 and failed to regain them earlier this year in a fight that saw the Brit collapse after the fight was completed.

Nelson, himself a former world champion, told iFL TV via Boxing News 24 that “AJ” should be taking some time off from the sport to “feel good” again as he tries to revive his career as he retires.

Johnny Nelson has urged former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua to take a break

Joshua collapsed after losing to Oleksandr Usyk for the second time earlier this year

Nelson insisted Joshua was “still broken” after the defeats and should “sit back and reset”.

“AJ is at a crossroads now where he goes to different coaches and then he said, ‘I might take a year off.’ I think he should take a year off,” Nelson said.

“I think he should sit back, reset, spend time in many, many gyms, work out, immerse himself in it, be comfortable with it and say, ‘Now I’ve reset, now I can do this.

Nelson praised Joshua’s performances but insisted the Briton was yet to recover from the Usyk defeats.

He appeared to face Tyson Fury earlier this year but negotiations collapsed and having only fought five times since early 2019 there is now no clear indication of who the 33-year-old could face next, despite being in his DAZN deal has to fight twice a year.

Joshua was twice passed by Usyk in losing and not regaining his heavyweight titles

“Look at what he has achieved. He started boxing when he was 18,” added Nelson.

“He’s achieved ridiculously good things, but he’s still broken. He’s still not over Usyk’s two defeats. He has yet to regain his strength, his faith back.

“AJ, he needs to reset. He has to think: “I have to be back here”. He needs his motivation to fight and he needs it for the right reasons, because it’s not about the dollars. He’s got more money than you and I will ever spend.’

Joshua has recently spoken of retiring but will almost certainly fight again before he calls it a day.

It’s unclear when he will finally hang up his gloves, but Nelson used Derek Chisora ​​as a reference for a fighter going on for too long when they should be seriously considering their future.

Nelson used Derek Chisora ​​(left) as an example of a fighter who carries on in his career for too long

He said: “He has to do this because he wants to do this, because he has an intention to do this. He’s not just doing something to invent the numbers. Those are the things that come into play now.

“Derek [Chisora] goes out there entertaining everyone but gets his head bashed in the process. It goes so far that even the fans say: “Oh God”.

“AJ lost two fights after a jump and now he has to sit back and think, ‘I have to make the right decision.’ He has to make it through his head, not his heart, because when he fights with his heart, he fights him for the wrong reason.”