A seemingly ‘punch-drunk’ Joshua then behaved bizarrely after the fight, picking up the two world title belts before appearing to throw them out of the ring in disgust. After returning to his locker room, he then charged back into the ring to give an impromptu speech on the microphone, congratulating his opponent while also telling fans how he ‘came from nothing’.
Despite the defeat, the widespread perception has been that Joshua, 32, showed vast improvements from his first battle with Usyk, which he lost via unanimous decision at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last September. But now promoter Hearn has said his fighter angrily rejected that notion when he tried to console him in the changing room.
“He didn’t want a conversation, it was that sort of vibe,” Hearn told Sportsmail when asked about his first words with Joshua afterwards. “We went back into the changing room and he was extremely frustrated.
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“He said, ‘No I f****** didn’t box well, I lost’. I said, ‘No, you boxed well. In the first fight, you didn’t box well, and I’ve told you that. But after nine rounds, I was convinced you were going to win this fight’. Usyk was amazing in the 10th, 11th and 12th rounds.”
Hearn did concede that the right man one, but added “Joshua took him all the way,” as he now plots the heavyweight’s next move. Deontay Wilder has expressed his interest in a bout, claiming Joshua’s team previously “did everything to avoid the fight.”
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