Watch Anthony Joshua throw belts out of ring and praise Oleksandr Usyk in bizarre post-fight speech in Saudi Arabia
Anthony Joshua has apologised for spoiling Oleksandr Usyk's moment of victory with his erratic behaviour in the immediate aftermath of their thrilling fight in Saudi Arabia.
Upon conceding a split decision (113-115, 115-113, 116-112) in the fight at the King Abdullah Sports Centre Arena in Jeddah, the furious challenger stalked towards the changing room before returning to the ring, grabbing Usyk’s WBA and Ring Magazine belts and dropping them outside the ropes.
He then confronted the champion, saying “you’re not strong, how did you beat me? How? I had character and determination”, before addressing the crowd with a bizarre rant about his past and his own shortcomings as a boxer - as well as praise for Usyk.
He said: “I am giving you my story. I was going to jail. I got bailed and started training my arse off, because if I got sentenced then I would not have been able to fight.
“I could have done better, but it showed the hard work he must have put in to beat me. Please give him a round of applause as our heavyweight champion of the world.
“I’m not a 12-round fighter. I am a new breed of heavyweight, Mike Tyson, Sonny Liston – they say ‘he doesn’t throw combinations like Rocky Marciano,’ because I am 18 stone, I am heavy.
“It is hard work. This guy here is a phenomenal talent. We are going to cheer for him.”
Joshua's apology
Taking to Twitter on Sunday evening, Joshua posted: “I wish @usykaa continued success in your quest for greatness. You are a class act champ.
“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.
“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 be better from this point on. Respect.”
Joshua's teary press conference
In the post-fight press conference, Joshua broke down in tears before explaining that his erratic behaviour.
“Am I proud of myself? It’s really, really hard for me to say I’m proud of myself. I don’t feel anything….just….I’m upset. Deep down in my heart. Ah man….ah. Trust me. F****** hell man,” he said.
Once he had regained composure, he attempted to explain actions that have drawn heavy criticism.
“It was just from the heart. I was mad at myself. Not at anyone, just at myself. I’ve gotta get out of here because I’m mad,” Joshua said.
“Like anyone, when you’re angry you might do stupid things, so I was mad. But then I realised ‘oh s*** this is sport, let me do the right thing and come back’. I just spoke from my heart.
“It’s been so tough. You see AJ holding it together. I’m a hustler so I try and put things together. But it comes at a cost, a big cost. It will never break me, but it takes real strength not to break me.
“And this was a little crack in the armour because I took a loss. With the speech I was just speaking about where I had come from. I was on the road….really.
“I made a transition through boxing, which helped me change my life. Bringing me closer to God and meeting so many amazing people. I just laid it all on the line with my speech.
“Let’s not forget the champ Oleksandr Usyk who put on an incredible performance. I can’t remember what I said in the ring because I felt so passionate, but I want to say thank you to him for taking part in a great, historical fight as well. It takes two to tango.”
Usyk responds to Joshua's antics
Usyk was asked about his feelings about Joshua's rant, saying: "I feel nothing but respect to AJ. I saw him a bit emotional and like bullying some of my teammates. That would be a bare-knuckle fight that I don't recommend him to do because most of them are horrible street fighters."
Hearn backs Joshua
Promoter Eddie Hearn addressed the negativity that has stalked Joshua’s career.
He said: “What you saw was raw emotion. A real person who was feeling the pressure and who wanted to win so badly,” said
“You live in an online world where it’s opinion, stick, abuse. He will never tell you that he sees that pressure or feels it, but it’s impossible not to.
“I just want AJ to be happy. He’s given his whole life since he started boxing and people don’t realise what a bubble it is.
“Everybody in the country knows who he is. Everyone has got an opinion on who he is. He’s in the gym all the time with his team.
“There isn’t anyone I know who is more dedicated to the sport than him and sometimes people don’t understand the pressures that are on people’s shoulder. But he’s never ducked a challenge.
“You see these complete d********, many of them on social media, they’ve got too much to say for themselves.
“They want to pretend they are good people when AJ is someone I want my kids to look up to. That responsibility is a huge burden and AJ’s always felt it.”