Anthony Joshua has admitted he has been "too distracted" by business interests and commitments away from boxing in recent years, but has now turned his full focus back to the sport.
Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) has taken a year out from the ring since his defeat to Daniel Dubois in September 2024 and is set to return on Friday in an eight-round contest against Jake Paul in Miami [8 p.m. ET, 1 a.m. Saturday GMT, Netflix].
The former two-time heavyweight champion was emphatically knocked out by Dubois in Round 5 at Wembley in a fight he was widely expected to win. The months since have seen Joshua undergo elbow surgery and recalibrate things away from boxing, while he has also moved to train with Oleksandr Usyk's team in Spain.
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"I went off track for a few years, I was doing a lot of stuff, man," Joshua told media in Miami on Wednesday.
"I was watching a [Mike] Tyson video, with Cus D'Amato, and he said: 'Your mind's not on your work, something's distracting you.' He said that to Tyson.
"And I said: 'That's it! I've been too distracted.' And that's when I shut down all my businesses and devoted myself to the fight game again.
"My mind is just filled with pain, hurt, victory and just wanting to win. I've put my mind in boxing again.
Asked what pain was in his mind, Joshua said: "The sort of stuff I want to do to opponents. I want to compete, fight. You hit me? Okay cool, I'm going to hit you back 10 times harder.
"That's where my mind is. I'm not going to the gym on my phone thinking about 'Has the [tax] bill been paid? Has the rota been done? Has this employee's contract been done?'
"I'm thinking about how can I beat up my sparring partner? How can I look good? How can I hit the bag today? You have to really think about how you're going to do well in training."
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Joshua has told ESPN he plans to "outshine and hurt" Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) in a fight many are predicting he will win by a knockout in the early rounds.
After Paul, Joshua is expected to fight early next year before a potential fight against Tyson Fury later in the year. When asked about Fury, Joshua said: "Forget Tyson. I don't like that guy. Forget that guy."