Oleksandr Usyk has offered to spar Anthony Joshua as the Brit rebuilds his career following his second successive defeat.
Joshua failed in his attempt to win back his heavyweight world titles when he was outpointed by Usyk last month. He struggled to come to terms with the defeat in the immediate aftermath and shared a brief chat with his rival in the centre of the ring.
Joshua was at a loss as to how he had lost for the second time in 11 months and Usyk has revealed he tried to calm his beaten opponent. "He was simply asking how he, the strong guy, could have lost to me, the weak one," he said. "I wanted to talk to him, I said, 'Ease up, man, let's just calm down, when I have time I could come to see you in the UK, come to your gym and we could spar together and stuff'."
Joshua stormed out of the ring after the decision was announced before returning to deliver a bizarre speech as he let his guard down following his third career defeat. The two-time champion has since come in for criticism, but Usyk was quick to defend the Londoner.
"I cannot say his behaviour was a disgrace, it was just emotional. I don't think he wanted to offend me, I think he was just overwhelmed, it was too much to take, and he just started ranting," he added. "But I don't have any rancour towards him and I want to tell people that they shouldn't hold it against him - he didn't do anything bad.
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"Emotions took over him and he just spurted those words, but later he told me it was OK. Don't judge him for that. Instead, he needs support and reassurance."
Joshua looks set to return to the ring in December against a top-15 ranked opponent before eyeing a fight against either Dillian Whyte or Deontay Wilder. Promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed he plans to take his fighter on a 'world tour' with America and China among the potential destinations.
Asked if Joshua has a future in the sport, Usyk added: "Of course, he does. Why not? What nonsense. OK, he has lost, so what? It's not lethal. It's just a small respite to do some homework."
