Joshua lost his unified WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and could not reclaim them when he lost his rematch last year with the Ukrainian.

But, having taken a much-needed win over Franklin, Joshua can start pushing for another world title fight.

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"I'm going to keep on pushing and plugging away," he said. "Maybe I could have let my hands go more [against Franklin]. Maybe this, maybe that.

"That's all the past now and all we can look forward to is what's going to happen in the future. It's just good to be back and getting the ball rolling. We're climbing, we're climbing the ladder once again."

Joshua previously acknowledged he would have considered retiring had he lost to Franklin. But he promises his enthusiasm for the sport is undimmed.

"I'm passionate. Self-driven. Motivated. No one forces me to do this. No one forces me to get up in the morning and run. It's tough," he said. "It's tough sometimes.

"But there's something in you that's like, 'Come on, you've got to fight, you've got to win.' The minute you start losing that desire, you've got to be real with yourself."

He knows that moment will arrive for him one day. One day he will have to stop.

"There is no ticking timebomb that I could actually tell you when it's going to detonate. But there's a reality," he said.

However, he noted: "The reality I'm living is, we're still chasing something. I'm still chasing the dream.

"I'm definitely passionate about the game. Still. For so many reasons. The list is long and I'm committed until it's done."

The goal is another world title and ideally a shot ay his British rival Tyson Fury.

He would prefer too to get that fight with Fury soon, even though second fight with his new trainer Derrick James might be better for his development before taking on such a challenge. Joshua, however, would find it hard to resist boxing Fury next if the offer was made.

"One-hundred per cent Tyson Fury, that's the pot of gold. That's the WBC heavyweight champion of the world. That's what it's about. Definitely Tyson Fury," Joshua said of his preferred next fight.

"Sometimes opportunity presents itself and you have to grab it with both hands. If the opportunity presented itself and coach and the team were like: 'Yeah it's a good opportunity.' I would take the opportunity and grab it with both hands. One-hundred per cent.

"The boxing world needs it."