Anthony Joshua has received criticism for his post-fight speech following his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in Saturday night’s heavyweight world title fight.
Joshua was accused of “stealing Usyk’s moment” by former world champion Carl Froch after taking the microphone and giving a bizarre outburst to the crowd following his split decision loss in their world heavyweight title rematch.
Having gone down 115-113, 116-112, 113-115 on the scorecards after an improved performance in the rematch of their one-sided initial contest, Joshua stormed out of the ring before returning, chucking away a couple of the belts and then taking the microphone.
Joshua was “left out to dry by his team”, who should have stopped him during his post-fight rant, Frazer Clarke added.
The scenes slightly took away from Usyk’s moment, although the Brit was speaking from the heart and was largely complimentary of the Ukrainian. Here is Joshua’s speech in full:
Joshua said after returning to the ring following an altercation after dropping a split decision to Usyk when he told his opponent: “I don’t care about strong, I am skilled, skills win boxing, you’re not strong, how did you beat me? How? I had character and determination.”
He then added: “If you knew my story you’d understand the passion. I’m no amateur boxer from five years old, that was an elite prospect from a youth. I was going jail, I got bailed, then I trained my arse off. Because if I got sentenced I wanted to be able to fight. I’m stealing this Usyk, sorry.
“It’s because the passion to get into this shit. This guy, to beat me, tonight maybe I could’ve done better. It shows the levels of hard work he must’ve had to put in. Please give him a round of applause as our heavyweight champion of the world. I’m not a 12-round fight, look at me, I’m a new breed of heavyweight.
“Heavyweights like Mike Tyson, Sonny Liston, Jack Dempsey, ‘You don’t throw combinations like Rocky Marciano!’ Because I ain’t 14 stone, that’s why, I’m 18 stone, that’s why, I’m heavy.
“It’s hard work, this guy is a phenomenal talent, we’re going to cheer for him three times. How many belts you got now bro, five? Hooray. I was studying Ukraine and their champions from your amazing country.
“I’ve never been there, but at the same time, what’s happening there, I don’t know what’s happening. It’s not nice, I’ve seen it in Lomachenko’s second fight. There were issues, civil war. Vitali Klitschko against Danny Williams, civil unrest. Usyk, as a champion, please raise your hand, under those circumstances you became a champion. Champ, champ.”
