KEHINDE FAJOBI
British-Nigerian boxer Anthony Joshua has said “I let myself down” after facing backlash over his behaviour after Oleksandr Usyk defeated him in their world-title showdown in Saudi Arabia on August 20, 2022
The 32-year-old threw two of Usyk’s belts to the floor and angrily stormed out of the ring, he then returned moments later to deliver a rambling speech laced with expletives.
Joshua’s career has come under pressure after his second successive defeat to the unbeaten Ukrainian.
In a post on Twitter, Joshua hailed Usyk as “a class act”, while adding: “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.”
Coming to Joshua’s defence was Tony Bellew, a retired cruiserweight champion who was similarly beaten by Usyk.
The Briton tweeted, “Made a mistake like everyone else on planet earth has done, the only difference is he makes his in front of millions on TV and then comes out (which is hard to do) and apologises to everyone!”.
After almost winning until Usyk’s comeback in the final stages, Joshua will now try to rebuild his career after his third defeat as Usyk retains the IBF, WBA and WBO titles and will now seek a unification showdown with WBC champion Tyson Fury.