Anthony Joshua was “left out to dry by his team”, who should have stopped him during his post-fight outburst following defeat to Oleksandr Usyk, says Frazer Clarke.
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| Oleksandr Usyk V Anthony Joshua II: British professional heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua in action during rematch against Ukrainian professional heavyweight boxer Oleksandr Usyk in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Photo: @SkySportsBoxing |
After an enthralling heavyweight world title fight rematch that Usyk won by split decision, an emotional Joshua firstly stormed out of the ring before returning, chucking away a couple of the belts and then taking the microphone to give an odd speech to the crowd.
The bizarre scenes slightly overshadowed Usyk’s moment, although the Brit was speaking from the heart and was largely complimentary of the Ukrainian.
Oleksandr Usyk V Anthony Joshua II: Ukrainian dedicates victory to his country Ukraine 🇺🇦
𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗨𝗸𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/xUnDvYKBvY
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) August 21, 2022
“I am giving you my story,” he said.
“I could have done better, but it showed the hard work he must have put in to beat me. This guy is a phenomenal talent, how many belts you got bro, five? We are going to cheer for him. Hip-hip, hooray!
“I studied all your champions, what’s happening there, I don’t know, but I know it’s not nice. There were issues in Ukraine. Klitschko vs Williams. Usyk, under those circumstances, he became champ.
“I’m not a 12-round fighter. I am a new breed of heavyweight, Mike Tyson, Sonny Liston – they say ‘he doesn’t throw combinations like Rocky Marciano,’ because I’m not 14 stone. I am 18 stone, I am heavy.”
Joshua’s friend, training partner and fellow professional Clarke was working as a pundit for Sky Sports Box Office and condemned the challenger’s team for not stepping in and preventing the post-fight scenes.
Clarke said: “I feel like he was left out to dry by his team. Somebody should’ve saved him from himself. In the true sense of boxing, that was Usyk’s time to celebrate, I don’t think it was right.
“Anthony has done a lot of good, but he had a bad one there. There are no excuses, that was Usyk’s time. Somebody should’ve stopped him, saved him from himself.
“Nobody feels it as much as Anthony. He’s not a normal boxer. The pressure I feel vs Joshua, it’s chalk and cheese. Maybe it boiled over there, maybe it was heated. Let’s not judge him on that, the Joshua I know is a nice respectful human being. He boiled over there.
“Maybe he’s concussed. After a fight, your head is all over the place. Maybe not what he said, the time. If I was there, I would’ve took a dig to take the microphone off him. Give him a minute to compose himself.”
Story: Independent
Watch: Anthony Joshua obviously emotional after his second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. “Throws two belts out of the ring” ⬇️
Anthony Joshua throws two belts out of the ring as he loses temper after defeat to Oleksandr Usyk. 😲😲 pic.twitter.com/PHDIe2FWGh
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) August 20, 2022
