Anthony Joshua’s first words after Tyson Fury’s heavyweight defeat by Oleksandr Usyk have been revealed.
The Brit was sat front row for the crowning of the first undisputed champion of his division this century, with Usyk winning via split decision having rocked his opponent in the ninth round.
The defeat was Fury’s first of his career, and he claimed post fight that he felt he had won the bout and that people were siding with Ukrainian Usyk ‘because his country is at war’.
There is set to be a rematch later this year, thought it won’t be for the undisputed title, with Usyk set to be forced to vacate his IBF title in the coming weeks.
The winner of that eventual fight could go onto face Joshua, whom according to his promoter Eddie Hearn, picked the winner of the bout in the immediate aftermath.
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What Anthony Joshua said immediately after Oleksandr Usyk’s historic victory over Tyson Fury has been revealed
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Usyk (pictured) beat Fury via split decision to be crowned the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the century
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Joshua, who was sat ringside next to Cristiano Ronaldo (centre), spoke to Eddie Hearn straight after the bout
Hearn told BoxNation: ‘I went over to him after the fight and I said, “What do you think? Who’s got it?”
‘He went, “Are you joking?” I went, “No”. He went, “Usyk’s the clear winner”.
‘I was like, “A lot of people felt like that”. I had him winning, but narrowly.’
The post-fight scorecards revealed that Usyk only had to avoid a final round knockdown to win on points.
Manuel Oliver Palermo of Spain, Craig Metcalfe of Canada and Mike Fitzgerald of the United States were the judges for the bout in Riyadh, with Metcalfe giving the win to Fury but the other two Usyk.
Fury controlled the bout early, showboating as the Ukrainian struggled against the bigger man, but the eventual winner grew into the contest to control the middle and end of the fight to claim the win.
Fury’s promoter Frank Warren has said the rematch ‘will happen’, and is set to be pencilled in for October, again set to take place in October.
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Hearn (pictured) revealed that Joshua gave him his immediate reaction following the fight
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Joshua could face Usyk for a third time, having lost to the Ukrainian in both 2021 and 2022
Joshua, meanwhile, was seen speaking to Cristiano Ronaldo throughout the bout as he has next to the star footballer, who plays for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.
The Brit is looking to climb to the top of the heavyweight division himself following a devastating knockout victory over Francis Ngannou in March, with many believing he will take on the winner of the rematch.
He lost twice to Usyk in 2021 and then 2022, but has never faced off against Fury in what would be one of the biggest British heavyweight bouts of all time.
