To be fair, who was going to be brave enough to take the mic off him?
First thing is first, what a fight that was! Anthony Joshua brought his game to a level that many people didn’t think he was capable of.
His boxing IQ was on display like never before, and instead of just using his size and power, he played it smart; went to the body, tried to slow Oleksandr Usyk down and took him into deep waters in the later rounds.
However, the Ukrainian is like nothing we have ever seen. He is an absolute freak when it comes to stamina and conditioning. Not only did he take massive shots from a man two stone heavier, he absorbed them and fired back in both quality and quantity.
JOSHUA CONFRONTS USYK AFTER DEFEAT 😳😳 pic.twitter.com/vFTYbgCoPb
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) August 20, 2022
The defending champion utilised his speed and southpaw stance to slip and swerve the Englishman, threw punches in bunches, and even when Joshua had success, he always came back in flurries that meant he always stole the round at least.
In the end, Joshua needed the knockout, but like trying to swat a pesky wasp, the unified heavyweight champion was simply too elusive, picked his counters and won comfortably in the end.
When the scorecards were read out to announce Usyk as the winner in a split decision, Joshua was visibly upset, lifting both the WBA and Ring Magazine belt, and throwing them to the floor before leaving the ring.
Clearly rattled, he managed to compose himself, run back into the ring, and in the most bizarre turn of events, stole the mic from the winner, and gave a passionate, but very unusual speech.
Although magnanimous in defeat, praising his opponent and getting the crowd to cheer for Usyk, AJ clearly had a huge chip on his shoulder.
“I’m not a 12-round fighter. I’m not f**king 14 stone, I’m 18 stone, I’m heavy,” was one comment he made in response to critics and former boxers who often find fault with his stamina.
Usyk hit AJ so hard, my man thought it was WWE for a minute pic.twitter.com/CPzUTxvi5p
— ⚒️ (@Whuollyhx) August 20, 2022
The contender also paid homage to the war that was going on in Ukraine, but unfortunately he didn’t know too much about the specifics of what was going on there, so muddled his words a bit (to say the least). It’s safe to say the atmosphere in Saudia Arabia became very tense, very quickly, as no one knew what he might say on such a sensitive matter.
Really, a member from his team should have taken the mic from him in those moments. There’s every chance that he was concussed and not to mentioned completely exhausted, so someone should have tried to save him from himself.
Usyk, on the other hand, thanked his faith and his team, and raised awareness for the tribulations that are occurring in his home country.
In the end, it was a brilliant fight that has hopefully not been too marred by a seriously strange post-fight reaction.
