‘I Was Upset, Pained’ – Joshua Explains Anger After Defeat, Earns $75m Despite Defeat

Nigerian-British boxer Anthony Joshua says he was upset and pained by his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk, hence his angry reaction.

Joshua was highly incensed and infuriated after Judges gave Usyk a split-decision win in a hotly contested fight in Saudi Arabia.

Tagged ‘Rage on the Red Sea,’ Joshua tried to stay aggressive against the fleet-footed Ukrainian but came out short for the second time in a row.

“Am I proud of myself? It’s really, really hard for me to say I’m proud of myself. I don’t feel anything….just….I’m upset,” Joshua said at a press conference after the encounter.

“It was just from the heart. I was mad at myself. Not at anyone, just at myself. I’ve gotta get out of here because I’m mad. Like anyone, when you’re angry you might do stupid things, so I was mad. But then I realised…this is sport, let me do the right thing and come back’. I just spoke from my heart.

Anthony Joshua visibly distraught and covers his face when asked if he’s proud of himself at press conference after the Oleksandr Usyk rematch loss: “It’s really really hard for me to say I’m proud of myself. I don’t feel anything. I’m just upset, really, deep down in my heart.”

Now despite not winning, Joshua shared $150 million equally with Usyk – a far cry from the £15million he earned from the first bout.