ANTHONY JOSHUA’S former team-mate Frazer Clarke apologised on his behalf for his lengthy rant in the wake of losing to Oleksandr Usyk.
AJ, 32, was beaten by Usyk for the second time in 11 months on Saturday night as the Ukrainian claimed a split decision victory in Saudi Arabia.
Joshua launched into a two-minute rant following his loss on Saturday night
Clarke apologised on Joshua’s behalf for his speech after the defeat to Usyk
Immediately after the result was read out, Joshua threw Usyk’s WBA and Ring magazine belts out of the ring before storming away in anger.
He then returned to the ring moments later and grabbed the microphone, launching into a long speech about his journey into boxing, the situation in Ukraine, and Usyk’s incredible skills.
Joshua received a backlash following the rant as some felt he had taken the limelight away from Usyk – who successfully defended his world heavyweight titles for the first time.
And, as the coverage cut back to the studio, Clarke, who fought alongside Joshua on the GB squad when they were both amateurs, instantly took the opportunity to apologise.
He also questioned why nobody stopped AJ from getting on the mic just minutes after losing for a third time in the pro ranks.
Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: “As a gym friend and a friend in general, for anyone that is offended by what happened, I think I can just apologise on his behalf for the outburst.
“He might be mad at me for saying this and the whole team might be mad at me for saying this, but I feel like he was left out to dry by the team. I feel like someone should have saved him.
“It’s words but in the true reflection of boxing, that was Oleksandr Usyk’s time to celebrate that victory and he didn’t get to do it straight away.
“I just don’t think that was right but once again, Anthony is a great person, he does a lot for a lot of people, he’s done a lot for me, but I feel like he had a bit of a bad one there and it was out of character.
“There were no excuses, that was Oleksandr Usyk’s time.
“To the people around him, where were you? Someone should have jumped in there.
“Someone should have stopped him and saved him from himself. It was only words, but it was the wrong time.”
Joshua, who also dropped the F-bomb during his rather bizarre speech, explained the rant later that evening during his post-fight press conference.
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 put things together. Try work hard and put things together and make sure my team’s good.
“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.”
