Anthony Joshua fixated with mistakes against Usyk

Eddie Hearn has revealed that Anthony Joshua is sulking following his defeat by Oleksandr Usyk last month at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The British heavyweight succumbed to the second defeat of his career on a chastening night, with the Ukrainian a deserved winner via a unanimous points decision.

A week and a half has passed since the loss but his promoter and Matchroom boss Hearn, speaking to talkSPORT, said that his man was still ‘frustrated, disappointed and gutted’ at what transpired on September 25.

‘I think AJ is humble in defeat, he feels a responsibility to act like that – it couldn’t be further away from reality. Actually I’d like him to lose some of that humble-ness sometimes,’ he said.

‘But he’s sulking. That’s the reality – I’ve been with him a couple of times and he’s fixated with the mistakes he made. He’s frustrated, he’s disappointed, he’s gutted. All he can think about is how he can improve.’

Hearn did reserve praise for Usyk though, who he now holds in the same pound-for-pound regards as Canelo Alvarez.

‘He got the gameplan wrong, he didn’t box great, was his preparation good enough? Again, you have to look at Usyk as well, he was brilliant. People are now saying Usyk is pound-for-pound No 1, it’s either Usyk or Canelo. So you’ve just lost a decision to a pound-for-pound great.

‘Don’t beat yourself up but the frustrating thing is we know he can do so much better. And the rematch that he will go into is a real tough fight but he wouldn’t want it any other way. AJ is fixated with looking at greats of the past, they’ve all suffered defeats and have all come back.

‘He’s a two-time heavyweight champion, now looks to be a three-match. He should be applauded for taking on the challenge of Usyk because no one really wants to fight him but he believed he could beat him.

‘He got it wrong on the night but also he got beaten by the better man and what was a genius performance.’

Joshua is expected to face Usyk in a rematch for his world heavyweight titles in the early part of 2022.

The Eagle Online