Oleksandr Usyk has advised Anthony Joshua to sack the "freeloaders" on his team following his second defeat by the Ukrainian in the last 11 months.
Joshua was outpointed by Usyk in Saudi Arabia last month as he failed in his attempt to win back his three heavyweight world titles. The Brit then stormed out of the ring before returning to deliver a passionate but off-key speech about his failure which left many people questioning why his team did not intervene.
Promoter Eddie Hearn has since insisted he risked triggering a "riot" if he had stepped in to stop his fighter while he was in full flow.. But Usyk believes Joshua needs to slim down his bloated entourage. "I don't hold a grudge against him. He was upset. I'd be upset if I lost twice," he said. "Joshua has potential to grow, he needs to get some people away from him because he has a lot of freeloaders. Joshua is a handsome man, well done."
Joshua also threw two of Usyk's belts on the ground during his meltdown and later broke down as he explained his actions. "Am I proud of myself? It’s really, really hard for me to say I’m proud of myself. I don’t feel anything….just….I’m upset. Deep down in my heart. Ah man….ah. Trust me. F****** hell man," he said.
Once he had regained composure, he attempted to explain actions that have drawn heavy criticism. "It was just from the heart. I was mad at myself. Not at anyone, just at myself. I’ve got to get out of here because I’m mad," Joshua said.
"Like anyone, when you’re angry you might do stupid things, so I was mad. But then I realised ‘oh s*** this is sport, let me do the right thing and come back’. I just spoke from my heart. “It’s been so tough. You see AJ holding it together. I’m a hustler so I try and put things together. But it comes at a cost, a big cost. It will never break me, but it takes real strength not to break me.
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"And this was a little crack in the armour because I took a loss. With the speech I was just speaking about where I had come from. I was on the road….really. “I made a transition through boxing, which helped me change my life. Bringing me closer to God and meeting so many amazing people. I just laid it all on the line with my speech.
"Let’s not forget the champ Oleksandr Usyk who put on an incredible performance. I can’t remember what I said in the ring because I felt so passionate, but I want to say thank you to him for taking part in a great, historical fight as well. It takes two to tango."
