Joshua: I fought Usyk, emotions; I let myself down

Anthony Joshua, British-Nigerian boxer on Sunday, on Sunday admitted that he let himself down in his encounter with Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk.

The match took place on Saturday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where Joshua fought back tears after he narrowly lost to Usyk.

Usyk, in a highly anticipated rematch, beat Joshua on split decision to retain the IBO, IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight title.

Joshua threw away two championship belts from the ring and stormed out of the ring, before returning.

But in a post on Sunday, Joshua wrote: “I wish Usyk continued success in your quest for greatness. You are a class act champ.

“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 my self 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.”

A rattled Joshua at a post-fight press conference was in tears as he explained the bitter loss and his furious actions after the bout.

“I don’t feel anything, I’m upset deep down in my heart. 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,” an emotional Joshua said.

Joshua then apologised for his furious reaction after the match when he threw away two championship belts from the ring and stormed out of the ring, before returning.

“I was mad at myself, not at anyone, just at myself, so I thought I’ve got to get out of here (ring) because I’m mad, like anyone when you’re angry, you might do stupid things.

“Then I realised, this is sport, let me do the right thing.

“It’s been so tough, you see AJ holding it together and I’m a hustler so I try and hold things together and I try and work hard, put things together, make sure my team’s good.

“But it comes at a cost, a big cost. It’ll never break me, but it takes real strength for it not to break you.

“There’s a little crack in that armour, because I took a loss and I think you just saw me upset,” he concluded.

32-year old Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua is a British born boxer with Nigerian parents from Sagamu, Ogun state.

Joshua was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, UK. However, he spent a part of his childhood in his parent’s home country, Nigeria, where he went to school in Ikene.

His mother, Yeta Odusanya, is a Nigerian while his father, Robert Joshua, is part Nigerian and part Irish.

Joshua had in July, 2019 visited his roots in Nigeria after his shock loss to American-Mexican Andy Ruiz, before regaining his title in a grueling rematch.

The Star