This week’s panellists were asked to offer their thoughts on Anthony Joshua’s bizarre reaction to losing against Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night in Saudi Arabia
Paul Butler (WBO bantamweight belt-holder)
It was very out of character for AJ, but maybe at last we saw the real AJ? It took away some of the limelight from Usyk and his performance on the night. It doesn’t help when he’s got “yes” men around him telling him he won and that he was great. Don’t get me wrong, though, he was a lot better on Saturday night. I thought the game plan was spot on, but he just came up short against a great champion.
Wayne Alexander (Former European super-welterweight champion)
That was Anthony showing how passionate he is about a sport he has loved for the past 15 years. He trained so hard and long for the fight and still came up short. Immediately after the fight he would have been so upset thinking that his career had come to an end. He still came back to the ring to more or less apologise and I think that it was all just heat of the moment stuff.
Michael Conlan (Featherweight contender)
I thought it was all a bit sad seeing AJ break down the way he did. He obviously believed he would win and when it didn’t play out that way he acted out of anger and impulse. It was raw and real emotion. It’s nice to see it but sad at the same time.
Eric Donovan (Featherweight contender)
It wasn’t a good look, to be fair, and Joshua’s team should have helped him or stopped him. It was huge entertainment for heavyweight boxing, though, and it triggered so much commentary from around the world. For me, ultimately, I just saw a man hurting, naturally enough, after the biggest loss of his career, struggling to cope and express his feelings. That’s why his team should have stepped in.
