Tony Bellew has insisted Anthony Joshua should not be judged after his X-rated speech following defeat to Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua was attmpting to exact his revenge against the Ukrainian last night in a Middle East rematch in Jeddah, but he came up second best one again by split decision. After the fight a series of frustrated antics took place from Joshua who first dropped the belts and stormed out the ring, before returning and making an impassioned X-rated speech.
'AJ' addressed a number of specific points including his rise into boxing, criticism from boxing legends including Mike Tyson and the current situation in Ukraine. Despite coming under heavy fire for his speech which threatened to steal the limelight from Usyk's win, former cruiserweight champion Bellew has admitted he has been in a similar situation himself.
He wrote on Twitter : "Don’t ever judge a boxer on a post fight interview! I can’t explain to you how much emotion and tiredness are both working AGAINST you! I’ve known AJ a long time and he’s nothing but respectful, honest and decent to everyone! He’ll be back."
Joshua faced heavy scrutiny for his expletive-laden rant after the final bell, despite Usyk hardly reacting to the speech and saluting his opponent with respect. The Briton aired his thoughts of criticisms he had faced in the build-up to the fight and let out his frustration. "Usyk is one hell of a f***ing fighter, let's give him a round of applause," Joshua said before launching into the tirade. "
"Sorry guys, look, if you knew my story you'd understand the passion. I ain't no f***ing amateur boxer from five-years-old, I wasn't an elite prospect from youth, bro, I was going to jail. I have seen some youths in Reading jail, I got bail and I started training my a*** off. Because if I got sentenced I wouldn't be able to fight. I bust my case, my cousin, where's he at?
What did you make of Anthony Joshua's post fight speech? Let us know in the comments section below
"G14. I'm stealing this Usyk, I'm sorry but it's because of the f***ing passion we've put into this s***, man. I'm not a 12 round fighter? Look at me, I'm a new breed of heavyweight, all them heavyweights; Mike Tyson, Sonny Liston, Jack Dempsey - they say 'he doesn't throw combinations like Rocky Marciano,' because I'm not f***ing 14-stone, that's why, I'm 18-stone I'm heavy."
Rising heavyweight star Frazer Clarke appeared to heap blame on Joshua's team for not preventing the actions of the challenger, adding: "I'd like to apologise on AJ's behalf. He might not like me for this and his team might not either but they left him out to dry there.
"That was so out of character but the people around him, where were they? He's had a bad one there and if I was there, I would've took a dig just to take the mic off of him just to give him a minute to compose himself."
