Joshua threw Usyk’s world title belts out of the ring after his loss and then went on a remarkable speech following his loss to Usyk in Jeddah. But Clarke, a close friend of Joshua’s, felt the British heavyweight star should have been given time to keep his cool. “As a friend of the gym and a friend in general, for anyone who has been offended by what happened, I think I can only apologize on their behalf for the outburst,” Clarke told Sky Sports. “He might be mad at me for saying that and the whole team might be mad at me for saying that, but I feel like he’s been left out to dry by the team. I feel like someone should have saved him. “It’s words, but in true reflection of boxing, this was Oleksandr Usyk’s moment to celebrate this win and he didn’t get to do it right away. I just don’t think it was right, but once again, Anthony is a great man. he does a lot for a lot of people, he’s done a lot for me, but I feel like he had a bit of a bad time there and it was out of character. There were no excuses, that was Oleksandr Usyk’s era. “To the people around him, where were you? Someone should have jumped in there. Someone should have stopped him and saved him from himself. It was only words, but it was the wrong time.” Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player Anthony Joshua lost his temper after losing his rematch to Oleksandr Usyk and reacted angrily by throwing two belts and arguing with his team.
Froch: “He stole Usyk’s moment”
Carl Froch felt Joshua deserved the praise after 12 hard-fought rounds, but had then been taken out of the spotlight by Usyk. “He took the mic, he stole Usyk’s moment, but let’s not get too mad. He didn’t say anything that would have offended anyone too much,” Froch said. “He was just trying to talk off the cuff. He wore his heart on his sleeve but stole Usyk’s moment and it was a little weird. “I didn’t like the way the belts were thrown. It was a great fight, I thought it was a great performance. But it shows his passion – how much it meant to him and how much he wanted it.”
Macklin: “Emotions are running high”
Matthew McLean, who was ringside in Jeddah, told Sky Sports: “It was strange but emotions are running high. “We don’t know what he had to endure, go through mentally, emotionally – all the naysayers, all the haters, all the knockers. We don’t deal with that, he is. “He’s disappointed to lose, pushed himself physically to the limit. The timing wasn’t great, but it wasn’t good.” Jonny Nelson also felt Joshua was struggling to contain his bitter disappointment, telling Sky Sports: “I think this was Anthony Joshua’s best performance ever because he showed heart, passion, determination. He was simply beaten by the best man. “He got emotional. Yeah, he’s going to kick himself, but you know what, the mask was off. AJ was speaking from the heart, saying what he wanted to say, not being commercially correct.” But Clarke insists Joshua deserves sympathy and understanding after failing in his bid to become a three-time world champion. “The passions were high and I’ve seen what he’s put into it,” Clark said. “I’m sitting here feeling the loss with all of them, but no one feels it as much as Anthony right now. When you put so much into it, your life into it. “Remember, Anthony Joshua is not a normal boxer. Everything he touches, everything he does is under the cameras and he can boil over there. A little hot. Let’s not judge him for that. The Anthony Joshua I know, Nice , respected man, he does a lot for charity, he does a lot for other people. He just boiled a little there. “I don’t think he will regret what he said, rather as it happened at the time he said it. “I know he’s a big lad and nobody’s going to want to fight him for the mic, but if I was there, I’d take a dig and take that mic off him because, I know it would be the right thing to do. something to do and gave him a minute to compose himself.’ Anthony Joshua’s heavyweight rematch against Oleksandr Usyk is on Sky Sports Box Office. Book your replays now!
