Anthony Joshua was involved in a SECOND altercation as he headed back to his changing room following his defeat by Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua had already stunned his opponents and the fans in Jeddah when he stormed out of the ring in frustration after Usyk held on to his three world titles by split decision. Joshua retuned to deliver a passionate but X-rated speech as he struggled to come to terms with his defeat.
He was later filmed walking back to his dressing room through a crowded corridor by iFL TV. One bystander congratulates Joshua on a "good job", to which the beaten man replies: "It wasn't good enough, though." A second man then tells Joshua to "keep it professional" which leads to Joshua responding angrily, asking, "Who you talking to? What the f*** do you know about it?".
Joshua is then shepherded back to his dressing room while his heckler explains the situation to a security guard who says, "[Joshua] misinterpreted it". Joshua was later on the verge of tears as he addressed the media following his third career defeat.
"I knew I was mad at myself, not at anyone, just at myself," he said of the first incident. "I thought I had to get out of there because I was mad. Like anyone, when you're mad you might do stupid things. Then I realised, 'S*** it's a sport, let's do the right thing and come back'."
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Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn defended his fighter's actions, saying: "The reaction from AJ - he’s a human, so much pressure. He exploded, he was devastated. He’s a competitor and a man. He’s [Usyk] the pound-for-pound No.1. AJ was desperate to win the fight. He lost a split decision to the pound-for-pound No 1. He needs to go back, rebuild, get the frustration out, but also be happy."
Joshua must now return to the drawing board but looks set to be out of title contention for some time, Usyk, meanwhile, called out Tyson Fury for an undisputed fight later this year which could return to the desert with Saudi Arabia interested in staging the £150million bout.