Anthony Joshua breaks down in tears after emotional defeat to Oleksandr Usyk
An emotional Anthony Joshua couldn’t hold back the tears after his devastating defeat to Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night.
Joshua put in a much-improved performance from his first defeat to Usyk at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium 11 months ago, but it still wasn’t enough to see him come away with the spoils. Although one judge scored the fight 115-113 in favour of Joshua, two others ruled for Usyk as the Ukrainian retained his belts in Saudi Arabia.
Defeat was hard for the British fighter to take. Not only did he storm out of the ring himself, he also threw two of the belts outside of the ring and delivered an X-rated speech. A visibly emotional Joshua addressed the media later on at 4am local time as he struggled to hold back the tears.
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“I tried a different style,” he said. “Previously in my career what got me through when I was beating people I have been beating… I was beating them off sheer hungry and passion. In the last fight I wanted to compete as a boxer but it wasn’t good enough and tonight wasn’t good enough.”
Joshua was then asked if he was proud of himself and his performance, to which he replied: “It’s hard to say I’m proud of myself, I don’t feel anything, I’m upset, deep down in my heart.” The question clearly hit Joshua hard as he pulled his cap over his eyes and struggled to speak as Eddie Hearn took over the press conference.
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(Image: Sky Sports Boxing)
After regaining his composure, Joshua added: “When you lose, you’re ultimately not happy, it’s just upsetting. I wanted to win and I wanted to win for Great Britain because I knew how much they wanted me to fight Tyson Fury.
“I’m not so happy with the performance because I didn’t win. I appreciate everyone watching at home, I’m a fighter, I’m not a normal person. Even though I try and hold it together, to be a fighter is to have a real different mindset and lifestyle.”
(Image: GETTY)
Despite the defeat, Matchroom promotor Hearn praised his fighter, saying: “He’s given his whole life since he started to the sport of boxing. People don’t realise what a bubble the life of Anthony Joshua is, everyone in the country knows who he is, everyone’s got an opinion of who he is.
“He’s in the gym all the time with his team, there is no-one I know who is more dedicated to the sport than him and sometimes people don’t understand the pressure on his shoulders, but he’s been an amazing ambassador.”
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