Johnny Nelson: Anthony Joshua still doubts himself before Fury clash

“It was the wrong answer,” Nelson said to talkSPORT Boxing about Joshua not showing backbone with Fury. “You get in there, you bark at him and make him think I’ve got to deal with this here. I didn’t like that. That didn’t fill me with confidence. I wasn’t sold by it.”

Joshua recently revealed that training alongside Oleksandr Usyk has inspired him, particularly by watching the unified heavyweight champion’s dedication to prayer and disciplined approach to training. Joshua said those were qualities he wanted to adopt as he prepares for the final stage of his career.

Nelson wasn’t convinced that was the answer.

“If you’ve got faith, you’ve got faith. I don’t need to see how you pray. He’s saying, ‘I see him pray. I see how he was motivated.’ You should have that within you. That’s deep down inside,” Nelson said.

While Nelson believes Joshua has learned important lessons from recent setbacks and respects his decision to humble himself by training in Usyk’s camp, he still questions whether the 36-year-old has fully rebuilt his confidence after suffering a knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois and losing twice to Usyk by decision.

“My worry with Anthony Joshua is that the Joshua that fought Dubois is what’s going to turn up, and if it does, it’s not going to be good enough,” Nelson said.

Joshua is scheduled to return on July 25 against Kristian Prenga in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, before an expected showdown with Tyson Fury later this year. Nelson believes Joshua still has the physical tools to compete with Fury, but says the biggest question is whether he can enter the ring fully convinced in his own abilities rather than still searching for answers.