I was mad at myself – Anthony Joshua explains erratic behaviour after defeat

Anthony Joshua broke down in tears before explaining that his erratic behaviour in the immediate aftermath of his thrilling defeat to Oleksandr Usyk was a consequence of the anger he felt towards himself.

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.

He 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.

Carl Froch accused him 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 later, 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 down in my heart. Ah man….ah. Trust me. F****** hell man,” he said.

Once he had regained composure, he attempted to explain actions that have drawn heavy criticism.

“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,” Joshua said.

“Like anyone, when you’re angry you might do stupid things, so I was mad. But then I realised ‘oh s*** this is sport, let me do the right thing and come back’. I just spoke from my heart.

“It’s been so tough. You see AJ holding it together. I’m a hustler so I try and put things