Anthony Joshua admitted emotions got the better of him after he launched an impassioned rant in the aftermath of his split-decision loss to Oleksandr Usyk.
Usyk outclassed Joshua to clinch the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles in London last year and produced another polished performance to deal the 32-year-old a further defeat in Jeddah on Saturday.
While Joshua’s improved display saw one judge surprisingly score the fight 115-113 in his favour, Usyk retained his titles after the other two adjudged him to be the victor of an absorbing bout.
He responded to the defeat in bizarre fashion, throwing the Ukrainian’s belts to the ground before returning to the ring to give a speech in which he discussed his background and hailed Usyk’s abilities.
AJ, who has lost three of his last five fights, subsequently declared: “When you’re angry you do stupid things.”
On Sunday, he moved to explain his actions.
The Brit tweeted: “I wish Oleksandr Usyk continued success in your quest for greatness. You are a class act champ.
“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.
“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. Respect.”
Usyk, 35, declared a desire to face Tyson Fury after sealing impressive back-to-back wins over Johsua.
He said: “I’m sure he wants to fight me. I want to fight him. If I’m not fighting Tyson Fury, I’m not fighting at all.”
Source:livescore.com