Joshua promises to bounce back
ANTHONY Joshua was sanguine despite being dethroned as world heavyweight champion, insisting he has no regrets about his tactics in Saturday night’s defeat to Oleksandr Usyk and vowing to dust himself off and go again.
Usyk was giving up three inches in height and four in reach, as well as nearly 20lbs in weight, but the superior ringcraft of the former undisputed world cruiserweight champion was there for all to see in his unanimous decision win.
Scorecards of 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113 were justifiable rewards for a mesmerising display by Usyk, who snatched the WBA, IBF and WBO titles from Joshua and left a ‘Battle of Britain’ against Tyson Fury seemingly in tatters.
Joshua struggled to assert himself throughout as his opponent’s speed and movement from an awkward southpaw stance troubled him but his strategy in front of more than 66,000 fans at Tottenham Hotspur
Stadium came in for criticism. However, Joshua feels his approach is a moot point after the second loss of a 26-fight professional career, while his immediate thoughts have already turned to a clause invoking the rematch and the adjustments he can make.
“If it went well then it would have been perfect but it didn’t so I can’t really look at it and have any regrets,” said Joshua, who disclosed he was unable to see out of a swollen right eye from round nine onwards in north London.
“What I’m happy about is I can go again and I’ve got a chance of becoming heavyweight champion of the world again. Only positives from here moving forward, I’ve had enough of looking at things from a negative point of view.
“I’m not a weak person. I’m not a sulker. I’m not going to go home (and) cry about it because this is war. It’s a long process. This isn’t just one fight and I’m done, I’ve got an opportunity to go back to the drawing board.”
There has been a refreshing absence of enmity or histrionics between two combatants put together by the WBO, which ordered champion Joshua to fulfil his mandatory Usyk fight after the former’s fight against Fury collapsed.
The pair have been on each other’s radars for nine years after they both won gold medals at London 2012 but while they traded pleasantries backstage after Saturday night’s bout, Joshua revealed he told Usyk: “I’ll see you again.”