Joshua wants immediate Usyk rematch after 'great lesson' in shock loss


Anthony Joshua wants an immediate rematch with Oleksandr Usyk after being dethroned in their heavyweight bout, while the British star was upbeat despite the surprise defeat.

Joshua was stripped of his IBF, WBA and WBO titles by Usyk, who scored a unanimous points decision in just his third fight since stepping up to heavyweight in London on Saturday.

Usyk – a former undisputed cruiserweight champion – handed Joshua his second career loss, having previously been stopped by Andy Ruiz Jr. in June 2019 before reclaiming the belts in their rematch.

Joshua is hoping to do so again with Usyk after falling to 24-2 in front of more than 66,000 fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

"A 100 per cent, a 110 per cent," Joshua said during his post-fight news conference.

"I'm ready to get back to training. Because I did 12 rounds, my lungs, and everything... I'll be in a good place even I get back to training and pick up where we left off."

Joshua had hoped to be taking on WBC holder Tyson Fury in a lucrative showdown to decide an undisputed champion in the heavyweight division, but that plan was scuppered when his rival was ordered to face Deontay Wilder for a third time instead.

Usyk was the back-up option picked to bridge the gap, the mandatory challenger coming with a superb pedigree but limited experience at heavyweight.

Unbeaten as he improved to 19-0, Usyk's southpaw stance and smooth footwork troubled Joshua from the outset and a flurry of punches left his star opponent on the ropes and desperate for the bell in the final round.

"It's a great lesson today. It was a great lesson," Joshua told reporters.

"I know, we can look at it from a negative point of view, but for me, I gotta take it as a great lesson and build on that situation... I'm not a weak person. I don't want to be in my bedroom sulking about the situation.

"I'm looking at it like a great lesson, go back, study and rejuvenate myself because nobody's gonna do it for me."

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Dethroned Joshua would fight Fury without titles after humbling Usyk defeatDethroned Joshua would fight Fury without titles after humbling Usyk defeat
Anthony Joshua says he would still fight Tyson Fury without being a world champion after he was emphatically dethroned by Oleksandr Usyk.

Usyk outclassed Joshua at a packed Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday to take the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles.

Joshua had no answer to the unbeaten Ukrainian, who secured a masterful unanimous decision victory and looked like stopping the Briton in the final round.

A rematch with the 19-0 Usyk could be on the cards for Joshua rather than a unification bout with Fury after he suffered the second defeat of his professional career on home soil.

The 31-year-old declared that he would be eager to fight his compatriot Fury, who faces a third clash with Deontay Wilder on October 9, regardless of whether he has any belts to put on the line.

"The road to undisputed and all that stuff, it's good," said Joshua, who suffered a badly swollen right eye in his loss in London.

"As I said, I'll fight Tyson Fury, Wilder, without the belts. The belts are fun. It's great, it's legacy. But with or without the belts, I'll fight whoever.

"The road to undisputed is a nice title to have and a nice title to chase.

"But would you still watch it, without the belts? That's the main thing – is you've got two competitive fighters in the ring from UK soil, that just want to go toe-to-toe.!

Asked if he would want a rematch with Usyk, Joshua said: "100 per cent. 110 per cent.

"I'm ready to get back to training. Because of the 12 rounds, my lungs and everything, it was a good 12-rounder, so I'll be in a good place when I get back into training to pick up where we left off."

Joshua will want Usyk rematch but must make big changes, says HearnJoshua will want Usyk rematch but must make big changes, says Hearn
Anthony Joshua will need to make some "big changes" if he wants to avenge his points defeat to Oleksandr Usyk, according to Eddie Hearn.

In just his third fight since stepping up to heavyweight, the unbeaten Usyk produced a clinical performance to beat home favourite Joshua in London and claim the IBF, WBA and WBO titles.

The Ukrainian's crisp punching and classy footwork saw him deservedly get the nod from all three judges at ringside, improving his record to 19-0 as a professional, having already been the undisputed champion in the cruiserweight division, too.

Joshua did not immediately give an in-ring interview in the aftermath of just a second career defeat, having previously been stopped by Andy Ruiz Jr. in New York in June 2019.

The Briton bounced back to reclaim his belts from the same opponent and could opt to try to do the same again with Usyk, though Hearn feels the tactics will need to be different if the outcome is to change second time around.

"Congratulations to Oleksandr Usyk, what a fighter. He put in a great performance tonight and the better man won," the promoter told Sky Sports.

"It was really the danger of the fight, you overthink it and try to be too technical and don't make your mark early enough in the fight. Usyk is very fit, has great feet and threw a lot of punches in there.

"It was all the things you worry about against a fighter like Usyk. He exercised his style very, very well, was probably a bit more aggressive than anticipated. He was really good tonight and goes down in history.

"No complaints from AJ, he will get up and go again. He is already talking about training again on Monday, but this is a tough defeat.

"This was getting beat by a pound-for-pound fighter. We've been here before in Madison Square Garden, but that was different. This is just being beaten by a better man on the night.

"You have to make some big changes in the rematch to avenge that defeat."

Hearn added: "Usyk was the deserved winner and if that happens again, he [Joshua] gets beaten. He's got to impose himself early, though it's going to be difficult because Usyk's confidence is going to be sky high.

"When you get to the level that Joshua has, as we saw after the Ruiz defeat, there is no 10-round comeback fights, no warm-ups. You go straight back in.

"He will want to go straight into that rematch. He will be an underdog after tonight, but this is what he does. He chose to take on a pound-for-pound great and deserves credit for that."

Joshua had seemingly been set to face Tyson Fury, only for that unification showdown to be scuppered by an arbitration ruling.

WBC champion Fury was ordered to take on Deontay Wilder for a third time instead, with that trilogy bout booked for October 9 in Las Vegas.

While a future showdown with Fury may be off the table for now, Hearn made clear that Joshua has lost none of his desire, despite what he described as an "average" display against Usyk.

"He lives and breathes boxing. Boxing saved him, boxing made him - he won't fall out of love with the game," Hearn stated.

"When you do, it's time to walk away from the sport. The desire is still there, it will be there, but you can have that, you've got to be good enough.

"He will know when he watches that back. That, for me, was an average performance from Joshua. He can do so much better in that fight, but this is what happens in this sport. You can criticise him but he's facing the best consistently."

Outstanding Usyk rules in London as Joshua humbled on home turfOutstanding Usyk rules in London as Joshua humbled on home turf
Oleksandr Usyk produced a boxing masterclass to sensationally dethrone Anthony Joshua at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, completely altering the heavyweight landscape in the process.

Usyk maintained his unbeaten record as a professional by outsmarting and outclassing the home favourite for the vast majority of their 12-round contest, rightly earning a unanimous points triumph to claim the IBF, WBA and WBO titles on Saturday.

Joshua started slowly and simply never managed to catch up. While there were bright spells for the defending champion around the midway stage, he faded badly down the stretch having struggled to ever impose himself.

Usyk even threatened to force a late stoppage as the Ukrainian came on strong in the closing rounds, yet he eventually settled for a comfortable win on the scorecards. The three judges scored it 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113 in his favour.

"The fight went exactly the way I expected it to go,” Usyk said in his post-fight interview with DAZN.

"There were times when Anthony pushed me hard but nothing special. I had no objective to knock him out. My corner pushed me not to do that."

Joshua had hoped to be taking on WBC title holder Tyson Fury in a lucrative showdown to decide an undisputed champion in the division, only for that plan to be scuppered when his rival was ordered to face Deontay Wilder for a third time instead.

Usyk was the back-up option picked to bridge the gap, the mandatory challenger with the WBO holder coming with a superb pedigree but limited experience at heavyweight.

Still, the former undisputed cruiserweight champion was undeterred by giving away both a height and weight advantage. Elusive from the outset, his southpaw stance and smooth footwork bamboozled a plodding Joshua.

Straight lefts landed with unerring accuracy, though by the halfway stage it appeared the Briton had begun to work out a method to counter what he was up against.

However, it proved to be a false dawn for Joshua, the composed Usyk undoubtedly finishing the stronger of the two, including an impressive 11th round that saw him land consistently before a finale that saw Joshua at times appearing ready to buckle.

While he did make it through to the final bell on his feet, the verdict was clear: Usyk had stunned both his opponent and a partisan crowd to be crowned in the English capital.




Lalasticlala mynd44
https://www.sportsmax.tv/other-sports/column1/fighting/item/88120-joshua-wants-immediate-usyk-rematch-after-great-lesson-in-shock

With a broken eye socket?
Mr joshua get recovered first.

hisgrace090:
With a broken eye socket?
Mr joshua get recovered first.

Will surely get better and win back all the belt

By the way why does Anthony Joshua ALWAYS put all his belts on line


Can't he bring out only the mandatory belt



And keep others?