Anthony Joshua needed to be saved from himself after giving a cringy speech on the back of storming out of the ring. That’s according to his friend Frazer Clarke.
AJ embarrassed himself in Saudi Arabia as he could not accept his loss despite being schooled by Oleksandr Usyk for a second time.
Petulant Anthony Joshua
Joshua’s petulance allowed fans to see his raw emotion. However, fellow boxer Clarke believes it was the wrong moment.
Clarke even offered an apology on behalf of Joshua after a difficult situation to witness without wincing.
“As a gym friend and a friend in general, for anyone that is offended by what happened, I think I can just apologize on his behalf for the outburst,” Clarke told Sky Sports.
“He might be mad at me for saying this. The whole team might be mad at me for saying this, but I feel like he was left out to dry by the team.
“I feel like someone should have saved him.”
Wrong Time
On the back of everything, Usyk has been through in his war-torn country of Ukraine. He should have been afforded control of the aftermath, fighting for his people and ultimately claiming victory.
He wasn’t, and Clarke is disappointed by that outcome.
“It’s words, but in the true reflection of boxing, that was Oleksandr Usyk’s time to celebrate that victory. He didn’t get to do it straight away.
“I just don’t think that was right. But once again, Anthony is a great person. He does a lot for a lot of people, he’s done a lot for me, but I feel like he had a bit of a bad one there, and it was out of character.
“There were no excuses. That was Oleksandr Usyk’s time.”
Save Anthony Joshua from himself
Clarke concluded: “To the people around him, where were you? Someone should have jumped in there.
“Someone should have stopped him and saved him from himself. It was only words, but it was the wrong time.”
Usyk did offer further comment on his priceless triumph and mentioned Joshua’s praise into the bargain.
“This fight was extremely important for my country. The belts are coming back to Ukraine. Ukraine won. The future of my country is we’re going to win.
“Ukrainians never give up. They always go to the end, always win. We’re going to win.”
Humble
On Joshua, he added: “I don’t accept it into my heart because I want to stay a humble person. I don’t want my pride to grow.
“The one who brings himself up, the world will make him come down. The one who stays down, the world will bring him up.”
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of Phil Jay.
WBN Editor Phil has over ten years of boxing news experience. Follow WBN on Facebook @officialworldboxingnews and Twitter @worldboxingnews.
