Oleksandr Usyk believes Anthony Joshua acted like a "spoiled child" after his second loss in their series of world heavyweight title fights.
Usyk retained his belts by split decision last month, although the consensus was that it was another relatively comfortable victory for the Ukrainian. And despite initially showing respect, Joshua's demeanour quickly changed as the reality of the loss set in and he began a tantrum that included taking the microphone and throwing two of Usyk's belts on the ground.
Usyk has generally declined to comment on Joshua's actions after the bout, but in a recent interview with Parimatch he admitted he felt the Brit acted like a "poor fool" on the night. He compared the situation to a child losing in football and throwing their ball away.
“I thought, ‘What a poor fool'!" Usyk said. “He reminded me of a little boy who wanted to play with a ball. But it was taken from him. So he decided to throw it over the neighbour’s fence. But the ball landed next to a fierce dog, so was it such a smart decision in the end?”
Usyk had previously expressed that he was unhappy with how Joshua treated his teammates, saying at the time “I feel nothing but respect to AJ. I saw him a bit emotional and like bullying some of my teammates. That would be a bare-knuckle fight that I don’t recommend him to do because most of them are horrible street fighters.”
It appears now, however, that the Brit may get the last laugh as he prepares for a shot at Tyson Fury in December, which could see him crowned the WBC champion with a win. Contracts are currently on the table for a bout at the Principality Stadium, with promoter Eddie Hearn indicating today that talks are positive.
Usyk was initially approached for a December 17 date in Saudi Arabia, but was unable to commit due to lingering injuries from the Joshua fight. It is expected that should Fury beat Joshua, which would set up an even bigger undisputed clash between the duo for early next year.
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There were concerns about the first draft of the contract for Fury vs Joshua, which was sent two weeks ago, but now talks have progressed towards a deal that could be favourable for both parties. A key point is the 60-40 purse split in Fury's favour, with the rematch being 50-50 should Joshua pick up the upset victory.
"We received the contract a couple of days ago," Hearn told DAZN Boxing. "It wasn't as we expected but we've gone back and now it's getting to be as we expected. It's very positive, we're not saying anything negative, they're not saying anything negative - I've never spoke to Frank Warren so I'm not sure that would have worked well.
"But now I have met with George Warren and we did get on, touch wood, very well. I think we're kind of putting that to the side and saying 'look, we've got a chance here to do something special. We're up against it time-wise, the broadcasters have got to have their conversation but we'd like to get it done."
