World heavyweight crown: Anthony Joshua vows to 'keep positive' after losing to Oleksandr Usyk

 

Anthony Joshua has broke his silence after losing his world heavyweight title belts in a disappointing defeat to Oleksandr Usyk.

The former heavyweight champion was outclassed by the Ukrainian, who hit Joshua with some heavy shots during the 12-round contest.

A black eye started to prominently appear on Joshua after the 10th round after some southpaw shots from Usyk, who became just the third man to become world champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions.

Joshua left the ring sharply after the unanimous 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113 verdict was announced at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Brit took to social media though after the fight insisting that he will 'keep positive' as he eyes a future rematch with Usyk.

He posted a message which said: 'Keep positive even if the world's crumbling in front of you! London I love you & thank you each and every time!'

Joshua also met Usyk after the fight and shook hands with the classy Ukrainian who promoter Eddie Hearn insisted 'was the better man on the night'.

The Brit was all smiles in the picture with Usyk despite the disappointment of his second career defeat on Saturday night, as he and the Ukrainian put their arms over each other's shoulders to pose for a picture.

In his pictures with Usyk there is visible swelling underneath his right eye, similar to Usyk who also has a cut from the fight.

And Joshua confirmed he was struggling to see properly in the closing three rounds of the contest.

He said: 'It was bad at one stage but it's getting a lot better now.

'From the ninth I couldn't see. I couldn't see anything really.

'My eye was shut but it was a good experience because in adversity you've just got to learn to control yourself and stay on top of things.

'It's the first time it's happened in a fight so I was thinking 'ok cool, this is the first time my eye has closed in a fight, I can't see nothing, I'm looking out of one eye'.

'But it got better as the rounds went on, and we'll be back.'

Hearn confirmed that Joshua would undergo medical assessments on the injury, although he was not taken to hospital and remained in the stadium.

Joshua will aim to reclaim his titles just as he did after suffering the first loss of his career to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019, before beating the Mexican in their second bout six months later.