It was shortly before 4 a.m. local time that Anthony Joshua met the crowd that was waiting for him. Flanked by his promoter Eddie Hearn, the 32-year-old entered the press conference room at the back of the King Abdullah Sports City media center and sat behind the podium. He and Hearn then started taking questions and everything went smoothly until someone asked Joshua if he was proud of his performance in defeating Oleksandr Usyk.
“Am I proud of myself?” said Joshua. “It’s hard to say if I’m proud of myself. I’m upset Really, deep in my heart… Everyone was waiting for him to finish his answer, but he had no more words. Just emotion. Joshua leaned forward, covered his eyes, and was quite clearly in tears.
It had been that night, one of intense sporting action but also one in which the athlete gave something more human. A rawness as absorbing as it is difficult to see.
It was surprising because it was coming from a man who for so long has been the epitome of restraint. Joshua may beat people up for a living, but he also seems like a nice guy. Charming, sweet, the kind of boy a father would happily allow his daughter to have dinner with. But here, on a hot night in Jeddah, the Saudi Arabian city on the Red Sea, everything burned.
After losing to Usyk for the second time and consequently failing in his bid to regain his status as world heavyweight champion, Joshua lost it again. He threw two of the victor’s title belts out of the ring before walking out himself. After returning, he exchanged angry words with Usyk before grabbing a microphone. In front of the crowd of 10,000 people, he delivered a curious and spoiled monologue.
“If you knew my story, you would understand the passion. I haven’t been a fucking amateur boxer since I was five,” he declared. “I was going to jail… I got bail and started training my ass. It’s for the fucking passion we put into this shit, man.
“Bitch, I’m not a 12-round fighter,” he continued. “Look at me. I’m the new breed of heavyweight… ‘Oh, don’t throw combos like Rocky Marciano’. That’s because I’m not a 14 stone piece of shit. I’m 18 and I’m heavy. It’s hard work.”
I’m a con artist, I work hard, but it comes at a cost. You saw a chink in the armor tonight, Anthony Joshua
Joshua eventually got around to congratulating Usyk, but even that was done with a bluntness that made it sound insincere. In keeping with the rest of the speech, it was also a little strange.
All in all, it was hard to know what to make of Joshua’s behavior. At first there was confusion, shock, even disgust. But eventually it was hard not to feel sorry for him. This was clearly not just a defeated man, but a broken one.
The main feeling was that of someone exhausted by the life he’s led since he was thrust into the limelight by virtue of winning Olympic gold a decade ago. Joshua turned pro the following year and has been relentless ever since: fight after fight, mostly in pursuit or defense of a world title, mostly performing in front of huge, expectant audiences.
Anthony Joshua exchanges words with Oleksandr Usyk after the result was announced. Photo: Nick Potts/PA
This makes for immense wealth, but it’s also exhausting, both mentally and physically, and while Joshua was probably able to handle it during the good times, it clearly proved too much during the bad, specifically in the period between his loss to Usyk. at Tottenham last September and Saturday’s return. As Joshua admitted, he felt the pressure of needing to win back his WBA, WBO and IBF titles, and having failed to do so it’s perhaps no surprise that he bowed out.
“I’m a hustler, I work hard and make sure my team is good, but it comes at a cost,” he said. “It will never break me, but it takes a lot of strength and tonight you saw a chink in the armor.”
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Hearn also admitted that Joshua came into this fight with the weight of the world on his shoulders and stressed that was what was behind his erratic behaviour. “What you saw was raw emotion,” he said. “People don’t understand the pressure on his shoulders, and he’s never shied away from that pressure. He’s an incredible ambassador. Someone I want my kids to look up to.”
Hearn also praised Joshua for “fighting one of the best fighters to ever lace up a pair of gloves.” It was only fair that he did so given Joshua’s display on his return to Saudi Arabia three years after beating Andy Ruiz Jr in Diriyah. Joshua had promised to be more aggressive than he had been when he faced Usyk in North London and he kept his word. Leading into the first round, Joshua secured the center of the ring in the second and constantly peppered his opponent with jabs, none more so than in the ninth round when the challenger made the champion fight, after to have unleashed hell.
But after returning fire in the 10th round, Usyk took control of the contest using a combination of typically sublime technique and ferocity. Having largely dominated the proceedings, it was no surprise when he was declared the winner, the only surprise being that it was via split decision. Two of the judges gave scores of 115-113 and 116-112 in favor of the Ukrainian, while the other, incredibly, deemed Joshua the winner with a score of 115-113.
For Usyk, it was a 20th straight win in two divisions, which in turn fueled talk of a mouth-watering unification fight with Tyson Fury, something both men seem to want, as well as providing pride and much-needed joy in his war-torn nation.
It was a third loss in 27 fights for Joshua and one that leaves him with little to go back to the top of his division. This is likely to lead to increased speculation, inside and outside of boxing, that he could call it a day, something the man himself was keen to stress wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. “I am a fighter for life, hunger never dies,” he said.
Hearn went further by stating his desire to see Joshua have “three or four fights next year and win the championship belts again.” He also stated his desire to see Joshua enjoy fighting again and, more than anything, “be happy.”
Considering his state of mind after Saturday’s fight, that seems like very wise advice.