Former WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) commented on the situation with a surge of emotions after the second defeat in the fight with WBA, WBO and IBF champion Alexander Usik (20-0, 13 KOs).
“I paved the way for the absolute championship. I was one step away from him. In my heart, I thought: “I will beat Usyk and end up there.” I missed one step. If you don’t want to see that kind of emotion and what boxing means to me, then naturally it was all wrong.
If I won, you would see the coolest celebration. But you saw the tragic side of what defeat looks like. I just radiated pure emotion. I had two fights with Oleksandr Usyk and one with my emotions. It was the wrong thing to do, but I live and learn. I won’t apologize for this as I think it will make me weak. But I can learn from this and try to behave better if this happens again,” said Joshua.