Sorry show
Joshua apologises for bizarre post-fight antics
ANTHONY JOSHUA admitted last night he ‘let himself down’ with his erratic behaviour in the immediate aftermath of his world heavyweight title defeat by oleksandr usyk.
Joshua grabbed usyk’s WBA and Ring Magazine belts and dropped them outside the ropes before picking up the microphone and launching into a confused rant (right). super-middleweight legend Carl Froch accused him of stealing usyk’s moment, while Joshua’s gym-mate Frazer Clarke said he should have been ‘saved from himself’ by his team, who ‘hung him out to dry’.
Joshua said: ‘I’ll be the first to admit, I let myself down. 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.
‘yesterday I had to mentally take myself into a dark place to compete for the championship belts. I had two fights, one with usyk and one with my emotions
— and both got the better of me. ‘It was just from the heart. I was mad at myself. Not at anyone, just at myself. Like anyone, when you’re angry you might do stupid things, so I was mad. ‘But then I realised: “Oh s***, this is sport, let me do the right thing and come back”. I just spoke from my heart.’ Promoter Eddie Hearn said: ‘What you saw was raw emotion. A real person who was feeling the pressure and who wanted to win so badly.’ Tyson Fury is back on track to meet Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world in a mega-millions fight in Saudi Arabia. Team Fury are in talks worth even more than Saturday’s £85million bonanza here which saw Ukraine war hero Usyk keep his WBA, IBF and WBO belts. The fight to unite those titles with Fury’s WBC belt is pencilled in for December 17. That is the night before the 2022 World Cup final in neighbouring Qatar and the fight would intensify the focus on the Middle East. Prince Mohammad Abdulaziz, the Saudi minister for sport, confirmed: ‘We are very interested in the fight for the undisputed heavyweight title. We are looking to do that in the city of Riyadh.’ After beating Joshua for a second time, 35-year-old Usyk said: ‘The fight with Fury is the only one I want. If that doesn’t happen I may not fight again. But I do believe we are going to fight each other soon.’ Fury took the first step towards retracting his latest retirement claim by belittling the efforts of Usyk and Joshua — ‘They were s*** and I’d beat them both on the same night’ — then proclaiming: ‘The Gypsy King is here to stay for ever so get your f ****** cheque book out.’ The WBC have given Fury until Friday to unretire before declaring their title vacant. Fury has talked of expecting £420m to re-enter the ring again. The 34-year-old will have to modify that excessive demand in order to face Usyk but can expect to pick up £45m-£50m from a fight package worth at least £125m.