Anthony Joshua took to social media on Sunday night to express regret for his behavior after he lost to Oleksandr Usyk in a split decision in their Saturday rematch in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Joshua grabbed the mic after the decision was announced and spoke emphatically. He also threw two of Usyk’s belts off the ring.
“I wish @usykaa continued success in your quest for greatness,” Joshua tweeted. “You are a class action champion. Yesterday I had to put myself in a dark place to fight for the title! I’ve had two battles, one with Usyk and the other with my feelings, and both are better than me.”
He also said: “I will be the first to admit, I let myself down. I acted out of pure passion and emotion and when it’s out of control it’s not great. I love this sport so much and I will get better from this point on. Respect.”
Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs) defeated Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) with scores of 116-112, 115-113 and 113-115 to retain the IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight belts.
The Ukrainian took Joshua’s belt by unanimous decision last September.
