EDDIE HEARN insists a “riot” would have broken out if he tried to stop Anthony Joshua’s fiery post-fight speech after his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk.
A furious and heartbroken Joshua went on an x-rated rant following his split-decision defeat to the unified heavyweight champion in Jeddah last weekend.
Anthony Joshua suffered a lopsided points defeat to Oleksandr Usyk last weekend
Joshua was enraged during his post-fight chat with Usyk
A fired-up AJ went on an x-rated rant following the loss
Promoter Eddie Hearn believes taking the mic away from AJ would’ve sparked a ‘riot’
Joshua’s team have since been criticised for not cutting him off and allowing Usyk to have his moment, an act Hearn believes would’ve done more harm than good.
He told DAZN: ”There are so many 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.’
“When he’s in that mood, someone going over to him and taking the microphone off him would have been the worst thing [that could have happened].
“There would have been a riot in that ring and it would have escalated terribly.”
Hearn admits Joshua’s post-fight antics weren’t on but understands why he blew his lid.
He continued: “It’s all very well, people being smart after the fact, saying this and that but the truth is, he reacted badly in the ring.
“He was frustrated, he’s 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.”
An emotional Joshua apologised for his behaviour in the post-fight press conference, where he broke down in tears.
He said: “When you’re trying to do things from the heart and everyone is just not understanding. It was just from the heart. I was mad at myself. Not anyone else, just myself.
“So I thought, I’ve got to get out of here because I’m mad. Like anyone, when you’re angry, you might do stupid things.
“I was mad and 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, yeah, and I’m a hustler so I try to put things together.
“Try to work hard and put things together and make sure my team’s good.
An emotional Joshua apologised for his actions in the post-fight press conference
“But it comes at a cost, a big cost. It’ll never break me, but it takes real strength for it not to break me. And tonight, there’s a little crack in the armour when I took a loss.
“And I think you just saw me just upset. And with the speech, I was just speaking about where I come from. I was on the roads, really.
“And I made a transition to boxing that really changed my life and brought me closer to God and brought me closer to meeting so many people.
“And I just kind of laid it all on the line with my speech. But let’s not forget the champ Oleksandr Usyk. He put on a phenomenal performance as well. So credit to him.
“I can’t remember what I said in the ring because it was just so passionate.
” But I just want to say thank you to him for taking part in a great historical fight as well. It takes two to tango. I was just so upset.”
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