JOSHUA TAKES SHOCK DEFEAT ON THE CHIN
Anthony Joshua said on Wednesday there is no one to blame but himself for the shock loss of his heavyweight boxing titles to Andy Ruiz Jr last Saturday.
The 29-year-old British pugilist went down to one of the biggest upsets in the history of the heavyweight division at Madison Square Garden with Ruiz sensationally stopping Joshua, the previously unbeaten WBA, IBF, and WBO heavyweight champion.
The 29-year-old Ruiz started the fight as a massive 32-1 underdog but floored Joshua four times on his way to a win which upended the heavyweight division.
Joshua, whose camp activated a rematch clause on Tuesday, moved on Wednesday to dispel rumours something had been wrong with him as many pundits had wondered about his listless performance.
“I had no panic attack,” he said in video posted online.
“I have to take my loss like a man. No blaming anyone or anything.” Joshua, who first came to public attention in winning Olympic gold in London in 2012, has refused to cut ties with trainer Rob Mccracken and accepted the blame lay with him. “I am the one who went in there to perform and my performance did not go to plan. My gameplan didn’t go to plan,” said Joshua.