Following Anthony Joshua’s second consecutive loss to Oleksandr Usyk over the weekend, Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn overcomes his disappointment to talk to iFL TV about what took place in the ring, the brilliance of Usyk, and Joshua’s post-fight antics. Check out some of what Hearn had to say below.
Hearn on his immediate reaction to Anthony Joshua’s latest loss
“Brilliant performance by (Joshua). You know, he boxed a great fight, it was just the brilliance of Usyk in the 10th round, 11th round, and the 12th round that won him the fight. And I couldn’t believe he came back in the fight like that after the ninth, but it shows you what an incredible fighter he is.”
On the scorecard that had Joshua winning
“I felt he lost by two rounds. But when it’s 115-113 it’s a swing of one or two rounds and you can see it the other way. I had AJ level or maybe up at the end of the ninth, but then I had Usyk winning the last three rounds. I thought he was incredible. I thought the 10th round was one of the great performances.
“The ninth (AJ could’ve got the stoppage), Usyk was all over the place. He was hurt badly, he went back to the corner, and I ran over because I saw Usyk go back to the corner, he looked like he could be done. But what Usyk did in the 10th round was unbelievable. And that’s why he’s pound-for-pound #1.”
On if he thinks Usyk was ever in a position to stop Joshua
“I don’t think so, I think he threw the kitchen sink at him. He couldn’t throw more. I mean the amount of punches he threw in the 10th round was incredible. I just couldn’t believe what he did in the championship rounds.”
On what the deal was with Joshua taking Usyk’s belts and throwing them out of the ring after the loss
“He was frustrated. He’s held onto those belts for a long time, and those governing bodies have charged him a lot of money and put a lot of mandatories on him, you know? And I think he’s lost a lot of faith in the system and I think he started to actually not be interested in fighting for belts anymore.
“I think he just wants to fight for enjoyment and to challenge himself. Of course he wanted to be undisputed — and a lot of that was just frustration and he left the ring because he knew ‘I’m going to do something stupid here’ and then he thought to himself ‘I can’t (just leave), because it’s a bad look,’ so he went back in the ring and then he gave a speech which was a little bit out there. But it was just pure emotion, and that was just from the heart.”