Former WBA, IBF, WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has said his fight against Oleksandr Usyk was a great experience for him.

The PUNCH had reported that Anthony Joshua’s reign as world boxing heavyweight champion ended on Saturday, with the proposed “Battle of Britain” against Tyson Fury now in tatters.

This was after Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine claimed a stunning unanimous decision win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

Scores of 117-112, 116-112, and 115-113 were rewarded after a near-masterclass from the unbeaten Usyk.

He became only the third fighter after Evander Holyfield and David Haye to win world titles at cruiserweight and heavyweight.

Joshua was obligated to face WBO mandatory challenger Usyk after a bout against Fury fell through earlier this year.

While narrating how Usyk beat him, Anthony Joshua said he saw nothing in the ninth round.

AJ, however, said he would train better and prepare for a rematch, adding that was the first time his eyes closed in a match.

While addressing reporters after losing his world titles to Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night in London, Anthony Joshua said, “Well done to the winner. We’ll be back again. Get back into training. Great twelve rounds, great experience in the ring, and then we progress from this point on once again so we’ll be doing it all again soon.

“I couldn’t see in the ninth round. I couldn’t see anything really. But it was a good experience because in adversity you just gotta learn to control yourself. Stay on top of things.

“When I couldn’t see anything, it’s the first time it’s happened in a fight. I was thinking ‘all right, cool…this is the first time my eye’s closed up in a fight. I can’t see anything and I’m looking out of one eye.’ But it got better as the rounds went on.

“We’ll be back 100 (percent). I’m ready to get back to training. Because of the twelve rounds, my lungs and everything, it was a good twelve-rounder so I’ll be in a good place when I get back into training to pick up where we left off.

“He’s got good pace but he still gets hit, you know? He gets hit a lot and in the rematch, we’ll just learn how to hit him more and be more concussive with our punch selection.

“I never tend to look at the opponent. I just tend to look at myself and realize where I went wrong. So it’s not so much what he did, it’s the opportunities I gave him. So it’s not so much him, I’m just going to go back and look at myself and correct my wrongs.”

Joshua also said he would still fight Tyson Fury and Wilder whatnot with or without his belts, according to FightNews.

“The road to undisputed and all that stuff is good. As I said, I’ll fight Tyson Fury, Wilder whatnot, 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 chase, but would you still watch it without the belts?” he said.

Sodiq Oyeleke, Punch News