"Beaten by the better man" - Frank Warren on Anthony Joshua's consecutive loss to Oleksandr Usyk
Frank Warren is not surprised that Anthony Joshua was beaten by Oleksandr Usyk for a consecutive time. The Brit failed to attain the WBA, IBF, IBO, WBO and Ring Magazine Heavyweight Championships after going down in their clash on August 20.
Joshua was far more competitive in the recent rematch where he was able to severely hurt Usyk in the ninth round. However, the Brit showed once again that he lacked the stamina to keep up with the Ukrainian over the course of twelve rounds. 'The Cat' dominated the championship rounds which led to him claiming a split-decision victory.
Warren acknowledges Joshua's improvements but believes Usyk is stylistically all wrong for the Brit. The Queensbury promoter said the following in an interview with iFL TV:
"I thought he tried much harder this time but as I felt before the fight, Usyk has his number. If he fought him a hundred times, he would beat him ninety-nine times in my opinion. He did try. He caught him with a good shot. Was it in the ninth-round? A big punch but he absorbed it and came back and won the latter rounds."
Watch the full interview:
Frank Warren on Anthony Joshua's post-fight comments
Warren continued by stating how he didn't understand Anthony Joshua's post-fight behavior. The experienced promoter notably disregarded 'AJ's' comments about not boxing from an early age. He added:
"I think it was a little bit all over the place...He mentioned later about the pedigree of guys, fighting from a very young age and going back generations. There's been a lot of fighters who do that who don't make it. There's a lot of fighters who come into the game with no experience. Anthony Yarde for example. He only had eleven fights as an amateur and came and has given a good account of himself."
It had been well documented that Joshua started boxing in 2007 when he was 18 years old at the Finchley ABC club in London. 'AJ' then competed in the 2012 Olympics five years later where he attained a gold medal.
Since turning professional, the Watford native has become a two-time heavyweight world champion. However, following last Saturday night, 'AJ' now has three losses on his professional record. The Brit is unlikely to fight for a world title again any time soon.
Watch the fight highlights of Usyk vs Joshua 2: