Anthony Joshua has announced that he has opted not to fight again this year in order to 'rest psychologically' following his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in August.
When he met Usyk for the second bout in August in Saudi Arabia, the British-Nigerian boxer failed to reclaim his world belts from the Ukrainian.
Following the fight, Joshua went on a weird rant in the ring, for which he subsequently apologized.
The former two-time world champion stated that his post-fight behavior demonstrated how important the rematch was to him, prompting friends to advise him not to hurry back into the ring.
'You saw after my last fight, it tore me apart,' Joshua said in an interview with DAZN.
'I had so much riding on it, for me, the British fans, the undisputed fight, it just really tore me apart. So from a mental capacity, my close ones are telling me: "you should rest mentally".
'Physically, I'm down to fight. I'm a warrior, I like this game, I like competing. But on a mental aspect, I think people have really seen it means a lot.'
Tyson Fury called Joshua out for a potentially massive domestic heavyweight showdown only weeks after his loss to Usyk.
Negotiations for a December 3 fight looked to be going smoothly, with Joshua first accepting Fury's requirements.
After that, the talks between the two camps broke down, with Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn claiming Fury's team failed to respond when they returned the first draft of the contract, and the Gypsy King's chief negotiator George Warren claiming Joshua's camp went silent when it came to discussing the proposed fight.
