Anthony Joshua has apologised to unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk after throwing his belts from the ring during an outburst following their rematch back in August.
The former two-time title holder was defeated by decision yet again in Saudi Arabia last summer after the Ukrainian had dethroned him at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium the previous September. And as the pair were showing the usual respect post-fight after a difficult fight, Joshua took some of Usyk's belts and threw them in a shocking moment.
He then launched into a scathing tirade after grabbing the microphone, with fans and experts shocked to see the usually stoic Brit show some raw emotion. Since that moment, Joshua has changed up his life, swapping trainers and moving to Texas where he is preparing for his comeback fight with Jermaine Franklin next month.
And he has apologised for his actions in Jeddah, telling BBC : "Listen, I'm not perfect. It's not the right thing to have done. I didn't speak to Usyk but I spoke to Wladimir [Klitschko] and said give yourself a pat on the shoulder and tell him 'well done and I apologise', that's man-to-man.
"But it was just raw, it may not make sense to a lot of people but it made a lot of sense to me and it was just how much it means, to a degree. I thought I would feel like that at the end of my career and when it's all said and done I'd just be like 'wow, what a rollercoaster, I made it through the trenches'."
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Joshua had lost his belts after a dismal showing in London just under a year prior, and shifted up his training camp by replacing head coach Rob McCracken with Robert Garcia. And while he looked considerably improved in the rematch, the result only went his way on one of the judges' scorecards, and he suffered a devastating third career loss that pushed back his dreams of an undisputed title.
"I feel that getting so close to fighting for the undisputed title and getting that fight with [Tyson] Fury that people want so much I was like 'yeah, I'm nearly there'," Joshua continued. "Then, bosh, I didn't hear my name. And there were certain things in the ring that were said, not excuses, but like 'you're big and strong'.
"Remember a lot of athletes from the African and Caribbean community are told that they're 'strong'. I feel like it's quite degrading, we don't get mentioned about our talent and technique... I'm aware of that because I am a black fighter, so when he said that I was like alarm bells going off. There were a lot of things triggering me at the time and it was just pure, raw, uncut emotion."
