"I let myself down," admits Anthony Joshua

Anthony Joshua has acknowledged he let himself down with his erratic behaviour in the immediate aftermath of his thrilling defeat by Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia, saying he acted "out of pure passion and emotion".

Upon conceding a split decision in the fight in Jeddah, a furious Joshua stalked towards the changing room before returning to the ring, grabbing Usyk's WBA and Ring Magazine belts and dropping them outside the ropes.

The 32-year-old then confronted Usyk, saying, 'you’re not strong, how did you beat me? How? I had character and determination’, before addressing the crowd with a confused rant about his past and his own shortcomings as a boxer.

Taking to Twitter on Sunday evening, Joshua posted: "I wish @usykaa 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."

Carl Froch had accused Joshua of stealing Usyk's moment while his gym mate and sparring partner Frazer Clarke said he should have been "saved from himself" by his team, who "hung him out to dry".

Hours after the end of the fight, as he reflected on a third professional defeat that places him on the periphery of the heavyweight division’s elite, he choked back the tears before holding his head in his hands to mask his anguish.

"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. Deep