No defeat has stung for Anthony Joshua like the loss by Oleksandr Usyk. And it showed in his erratic behaviour and rambling rant in the ring and a press conference during which he fought back tears.
When he was beaten by the Ukrainian at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last September, he could rationalise it, he could see how he could do better. Likewise, when he lost against Andy Ruiz Jr in New York in 2019, he was caught cold by a punch. It is boxing, it happens.
But this was hard to take. He had trained his best, he had changed his team and tactics, he had fought brilliantly but still it was not enough.
Afterwards, there was no sense of wanting to quit, seemingly no worries about stepping down a level, but a dream died in Saudi Arabia.
The road back is now a long one and he is at the end of a run of 12 consecutive world title fights. The last time Joshua boxed without a world title on the line was when he faced Dillian Whyte in a British title fight in 2015.
But as well as now being on the outside looking in on a fight for the title of undisputed world heavyweight champion, the four governing bodies have mandatory challengers lining up.
The WBA’s contender is Daniel Dubois, who would theoretically be first in line for Usyk if a fight with Tyson Fury is not agreed. The IBF have Filip Hrgovic, of Croatia, who narrowly beat China’s Zhilei Zhang in a final eliminator on Saturday’s undercard, while the WBO’s man will be the winner of next month’s fight between Joe Joyce and Joseph Parker.
The most likely route back to a world title fight for Joshua is if Fury beats Usyk and then picks a fight against his biggest rival, or if the winner of the undisputed title fight retires and the belts are fragmented.
Plans are already coming together for Joshua’s return, though, which would see him fight on DAZN, with whom he signed a long-term deal ahead of this fight.
“I spoke to Eddie (Hearn, the promoter) and asked if I could go in November because momentum is important,” Joshua said. “He said December. I will take two weeks off.
“I am a fighter for life and the fire never dies. Come one, come all, whoever wants it can get it.”
Hearn is already talking about Joshua fighting three times next year, a frequency he has not managed since 2016.
Joshua fought a great fight. His tactics at times seemed to be working. But the story of the fight came down to two rounds — the ninth and the 10th.
The fight was still in the balance when Joshua had a brilliant ninth round, rocking Usyk repeatedly, driving him around the ring. He seemed just one clean blow from victory.
But the minute’s rest at the end of the round did wonders for Usyk. After all the punishment Joshua had dished out in the ninth round, Usyk did the same to Joshua in the 10th, as he landed a series of hooks that stiffened Joshua’s legs and had him gritting his teeth in an attempt to stay upright.
The fight was won right there. Joshua’s tank emptied and, try as he might, as brave as he was, he could not match Usyk in the last two rounds on his tired legs. It was the difference between victory and defeat, as Usyk won a split decision. If Joshua had won any of the last three rounds, it would have been a draw.
The frustration quickly mounted up for Joshua in the aftermath, as he left the ring in a rage before being persuaded back and then seemed to attempt to present two of the championship belts to Usyk, only to be held back by security and then he threw the belts out of the ring.
A dream died for Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia.... the road back is now a long one
He then grabbed the ring microphone for a slightly bizarre rant in which he praised Usyk. It was as if all the snipes he had taken over the years from critics had caught up with him in one moment of failure.
But this was not a failure. He had just found his limit when an extraordinary boxer went higher.
At the press conference, he said he had spoken “from the heart”, but after a social media pile-on, he apologised on Twitter, saying he had lost two battles, one with Usyk, one with his emotions.
“I’ll be the first to admit, I let myself down,” he wrote. “I acted out of pure passion and emotion and when not controlled it ain’t great. I love this sport so, so much and I’ll be better from this point on.”
