Eddie Hearn feared taking the microphone away from Anthony Joshua during his post-fight rant after losing to Oleksandr Usyk would spark a riot in the ring.
Joshua, 32, was outpointed by Usyk for the second time in 11 months last weekend. It was a valiant effort from 'AJ' and he did have more success against Usyk compared to their first meeting last September, but was ultimately outclassed by the Ukrainian as he was handed his second defeat on the bounce.
The Brit was furious after the loss and had to be held back after almost getting into an altercation with a member of Usyk's team. Joshua threw two of his world title belts on the ground and stormed off after the decision was announced, only to return to the ring moments later to deliver a bizarre speech.
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Many fans questioned why a member of Joshua's team didn't put a stop to his speech, but Hearn thinks that would have made things worse. "Firstly, you talk about listening to peoples opinions. There are so many f***ing idiots out there who have got an opinion and go 'oh, I can't believe no-one went over to him and grabbed the microphone off him'. When he's in that mood, that would have been the worst thing," he said on the DAZN Boxing Show.
"There would have been a riot in the ring and it would have escalated terribly. It's all very well people being smart after the fact, saying this and saying that but the truth is he reacted badly in the ring. He was frustrated, he'd worked 11 months to try and win this fight. He wanted to win more than anything in the world and he behaved in a way that he knew he shouldn't have off. Someone winded him up and he flipped.
"He left the ring because he knew he had to get out of this situation. When he walked halfway down, people were saying 'they shouldn't have got him back in the ring', he made that decision. Do you know why he made that decision? It's because he was embarrassed."
Joshua broke down in the tears at the post-fight press conference and insisted he was only angry at himself, not at anybody else, after the fight. 'AJ' said he realised he was doing a "stupid thing" once he stormed out of the ring, which is why he tried to rectify his actions by delivering the post-fight speech.
