Anthony Joshua speaks out about bizarre post-fight antics
British boxer Anthony Joshua has apologised for his bizarre post-fight behaviour following his loss to Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia.
Joshua said his emotions got the better of him and he let himself down.
Anthony Joshua spoke out following his defeat was decided by a split decision in the heavyweight world title rematch.
What did Joshua do?
In a nutshell, Joshua had a tantrum. After the loss, Joshua picked up Usyk’s belts and dropped them out of the ring, before heading towards the dressing room and then returning to the ring to give a strange expletive-filled speech.
However, when Anthony Joshua speaks out following the decision, he was more reflective and calmer. In the speech, he reflected on the fight, his shortcomings as a boxer, the war in Ukraine and his troubles as a youth.
In his tweets on Sunday, he wished Usyk, who also beat him on points last September in London, “continued success in your quest for greatness”.
“You are a class act, champ,” he said. “Yesterday I had to mentally take myself into a dark place to compete for the championship belts! I had two fights, one with Usyk and one with my emotions and both got the better of me, referring to his post-fight behaviour
“I’ll be the first to admit, I let myself down. I acted out of pure passion and emotion and when not controlled it ain’t great. I love this sport so so much and I’ll do better next time.”
Oleksandr Usyk after beating Anthony Joshua
“I want to thank everyone who prayed for me. I want to thank God for the help he gave me today because he did give me a lot today. My lord is Jesus Christ. I can thank you Saudi. Thank you so much.
“I devote this victory to my family, my country, my team, to all the military defending this country. Thank you so much.
On whether he will fight Tyson Fury to unify the titles: “I’m sure that Tyson Fury is not retired yet. I’m convinced he wants to fight me. I want to fight him. If I’m not fighting Fury I’m not fighting at all.
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