Anthony Joshua says sorry to Usyk

Anthony Joshua has issued a public  apology for his actions in the aftermath of his second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk, which saw him throw the Ukrainian’s belts out of the ring and launch into a bizarre tirade.

Usyk defeated Joshua in their rematch in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last August on a split decision after he had beaten him by unanimous decision a year prior at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

With his place at the top seemingly hanging by a thread after a third defeat in his career, Joshua appeared to experience something of a meltdown.

Speaking ahead of his return to the ring against Jermaine Franklin in April, Joshua told the BBC that he apologised for his actions before offering something of an explanation for the way he acted.

“Listen, I’m not perfect, it was not the right thing to have done. I didn’t speak to Usyk. I spoke to Wladimir (Klitschko) and I said, “give Usyk a pat on the shoulder and I apologise”.

‘But it was just raw, uncut and… It may not make sense to a lot of people but it made a lot of sense to me and it was just how much it means to a degree.

‘I thought I’d feel like that at the end of my career when it’s all said and done and I’d be like, “Wow! What a rollercoaster. I made it through the trenches.

‘I feel getting so close to fighting for the undisputed title and getting that fight with [Tyson] Fury that people want so much. I was like “yeah, I’m nearly there” and then bosh when I didn’t hear my name.

‘Then there were certain things in the ring that were said – not excuses – and one of them was “you’re big and strong, you’re strong.

‘Remember a lot of athletes from the African-Caribbean community are told they’re strong and I feel like it’s quite degrading, because you don’t get mentioned in terms of talent or technique.

‘When he said I’m big and strong the alarm bells went off. There were loads of things that were triggering me at the time, but it was just raw and uncut emotion”, added Anthony Joshua, whose father hails from Sagamu in Ogun State.