Anthony Joshua’s emotional outburst after his replay defeat to Oleksandr Usyk should have been avoided by his team, according to Sky Sports pundits.
Joshua tossed Usyk’s world title belts out of the ring after his defeat and then delivered a remarkable speech following his split decision loss to Usyk in Jeddah.
But Clarke, a close friend of Joshua’s, thought the British heavyweight star should have been given time to keep his composure.
“As a friend at the gym and a friend in general, for anyone who is offended by what happened, I think I can only apologize on their behalf for the outburst,” Clarke told Sky Sports.
“He might be mad at me for saying that and the whole team might be mad at me for saying that, but I feel like the team let him out to dry. I think somebody should have saved him.
“These are words, but in the true reflection of boxing, this was Oleksandr Usyk’s moment to celebrate this victory and he couldn’t do it right away. I don’t think it was right, but once again, Anthony is a great person. , he’s done a lot for a lot of people, he’s done a lot for me, but I feel a little bad happened there and it was out of character. There were no excuses, it was Oleksandr Usyk’s time.
“To the people around him, where were you? Someone should have jumped in there. Someone should have stopped him and saved him from himself. It was just words, but it was the wrong time.”
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Anthony Joshua lost his cool after losing his rematch to Oleksandr Usyk and reacted angrily by throwing two belts at himself and arguing with his team.
Froch: “He stole Usyk’s moment”
Carl Froch felt Joshua deserved praise after 12 hard-fought rounds, but had then taken the spotlight from Usyk.
“He got the mic, he stole Usyk’s moment, but let’s not get too mad. He didn’t say anything that offended anybody too much,” Froch said.
“He was just trying to talk about the sleeve. He wore his heart on his sleeve, but he did steal Usyk’s moment and it was a little weird.
“I didn’t like the way the belts were thrown. It was a great boxing match, I thought it was a great performance. But it shows his passion – how much it meant to him and how much he wanted it.”
Macklin: “Emotions are running high”
Matthew Macklin, who was ringside in Jeddah, told Sky Sports: “It was strange but the emotions are running high.
“We don’t know what he’s had to put up with, to go through mentally, emotionally: all the doubters, all the haters, everyone who beat him. We’re not dealing with that, him.
“He’s disappointed to have lost, he’s pushed himself to the limit physically. The weather wasn’t great, but he spilled, didn’t he.”
Johnny Nelson also felt Joshua struggled to contain his bitter disappointment, telling Sky Sports: “I think it was Anthony Joshua’s best performance because he showed heart, passion and determination. The better man beat him .
“Emotions got the better of him. Yeah, he’s going to get kicked, but you know what, the mask was off. AJ was speaking from the heart, saying what he wanted to say, not to be commercially correct.”
But Clarke insists Joshua deserves sympathy and understanding after falling short in his bid to become a three-time world champion.
“The passions were high and I’ve seen what he’s put into it,” Clarke said. “I’m sitting here and I feel the loss with all of them, but no one feels it more than Anthony right now. When you put so much into it, your life.
“Remember, Anthony Joshua is not an ordinary boxer. Everything he touches, everything he does is under the cameras, and he might be seething there. A little heated. We don’t judge him for that. The Anthony Joshua I know, a being nice and respectful human, does a lot for charity, does a lot for others.He just seethed a little.
“I don’t think he’ll regret what he said, probably just the way it happened and the time he said it.
“I know he’s a big guy and nobody’s going to want to fight him over the mic, but if he’d been there, I’d have made a dig and taken the mic off him because, I know that would have been the right thing to do and he gave him a minute to compose yourself”.
Anthony Joshua’s heavyweight rematch against Oleksandr Usyk is on Sky Sports box office. Book the replays now!