Anthony Joshua has "no regrets" for his enraged behaviour after Oleksandr Usyk fight
Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk last August ended with one of the strangest moments ever.
The two first faced off in September 2021, with 'The Cat' scoring a unanimous decision victory. Following the defeat, Joshua returned to the drawing board. He activated his rematch clause and linked up with new coach Robert Garcia.
The rematch took place last August in Saudi Arabia, and the fight was a spectacle. Joshua came out firing early and even badly hurt the champion in the ninth. However, he was unable to get the finish, and wound up losing by split-decision, his second loss in a row.
Sadly, following the fight, things got worse for Anthony Joshua. The former two-time champion gave an incredibly bizarre speech, where he praised but also insulted Oleksandr Usyk. The whole ordeal went on for multiple minutes and only happened because Joshua took the microphone first.
Anthony Joshua's passionate speech following a second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk last night 🎥😯https://t.co/vqwqnXw4mK
Months on from the incident, he's finally set to return this weekend against Jermaine Franklin. In a recent interview with BoxingScene, Joshua admitted that he has no regrets about the speech and that it was just an outpouring of emotions.
He stated:
“At age 18 - when I was going down the wrong road - I saw another path and it took a lot to make that decision. I got rid of a lot of things in my life to focus on boxing and it hit me. I always thought I would only feel like that when I retire, when I said I am done with boxing, I thought then I feel how much it means to me, but it happened there and then.”
See his comments below:
Anthony Joshua Reflects on Post-Fight Drama After Usyk Rematch dlvr.it/Sljmgb
Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk: How did 'The Cat' react?
Forgotten in the aftermath of Anthony Joshua vs. Olekandr Usyk is how 'The Cat' reacted.
To his credit, the Ukrainian heavyweight champion had an understanding of his opponent's outburst. While he's never lost in his professional career, yes, even Usyk has lost in the past.
However, it wasn't until the champion saw the full film. Lost in the madness of the speech was that Joshua pushed and argued with several of Usyk's training partners and coaches after his comments.
On his YouTube channel, Oleksandr Usyk blasted Anthony Joshua for his post-fight speech and attitude towards his coaches. He stated:
“I saw him a bit emotional and like bullying some of my teammates... You know, I thought, ‘What a poor fool’... I thought, ‘Why should you be doing that?’ He reminded me of a little boy who wanted to play with the ball, but it was taken away from him."
See his comments below: