Anthony Joshua’s initial words following Tyson Fury’s heavyweight loss against Oleksandr Usyk have been revealed.
The Brit sat in the front row for the coronation of the first undisputed champion of his category this century, which Usyk won via split decision after rocking his opponent in the ninth round.
Fury’s defeat was his first of his career, and he claimed post-fight that he had won and that fans were side with Ukrainian Usyk ‘because his nation is at war’.
What Anthony Joshua said immediately after Oleksandr Usyk’s historic victory over Tyson Fury has been revealed
A rematch is scheduled for later this year, but it will not be for the undisputed title. Usyk will be forced to vacate his IBF belt in the coming weeks.
The victor of that eventual fight might face Joshua, who, according to his promoter Eddie Hearn, picked the winner of the bout immediately after the fight.
Usyk (pictured) beat Fury via split decision to be crowned the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the century
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.
Hearn (pictured) revealed that Joshua gave him his immediate reaction following the fight
Joshua might face Usyk for the third time, after losing to the Ukrainian in both 2021 and 2022.
Joshua, meantime, was seen speaking with Cristiano Ronaldo throughout the fight, as he sits next to the great footballer, who plays for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.
Following a dramatic knockout victory over Francis Ngannou in March, the British heavyweight hopes to get to the top of the category, with many assuming he will face the winner of the rematch.
He lost twice to Usyk in 2021 and 2022, but he has never faced Fury in what would be one of the biggest British heavyweight fights ever.
