Anthony Joshua says he left the ring after his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk to avoid doing something stupid.
Usyk defeated Joshua on points in Jeddah, the second time in 11 months the British boxer has been beaten by the Ukrainian.
Usyk has retained the WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles after a 12-round split decision. Ringside judges Victor Fesechko (116-112) and Steve Gray (115-113) scored it for Usyk, while Glenn Feldman (115-113) had it for Joshua.
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It was an improved performance from Joshua but Usyk showed his class.
Following the bout, Joshua threw down the belts after the result was read and stormed out of the ring - before returning and giving an emotive and slightly bizarre speech, where he spoke out against his critics.
In his post-match press conference he explained his motives and revealed he left because of the emotiveness of the situation. He said: "When you try and do things from the heart... it was from the heart.
"I knew I was mad at myself, not at anyone, just at myself. I thought I had to get out of there because I was mad. Like anyone, when you're mad you might do stupid things. Then I realised, 'S*** it's a sport, let's do the right thing and come back'."
Joshua went on to explain his speech, which you can read about here.
"In the speech I just spoke about where I came from, I was on the road and in the ring I made a transition. I laid it all on the line with my speech," he said.
"It's been so tough. You see AJ holding it together; I'm a hustler... but it comes at a cost, a big cost. It will never break me but it takes real strength to not let it break me. Tonight there was a crack in the armour because I'd taken a defeat."
Eddie Hearn admitted Joshua “exploded” after his defeat - but insisted his reaction was “human”.
“You saw the reaction from AJ, and that was from a human who wanted to win so badly with so much pressure on his shoulders,” Hearn said when interviewed by Sky Sports Box Office.
“I think he just exploded because he lost and he was devastated, and he’s given everything to try and win this fight. He couldn’t win the fight, he’s a competitor, he’s a winner but this man’s too good.”
