Anthony Joshua repeatedly shouted “f**k that shit” whilst trying to be consoled by Vasiliy Lomachenko in the ring after his loss to Oleksandr Usyk.
The 32-year-old former two-time unified world heavyweight champion was bidding to become a three-time global ruler in a rematch against the Ukrainian on Saturday night.
Joshua, under the guidance of his new trainer Robert Garcia for the first time, was on the wrong end of a split decision at the Jeddah Superdome in Saudi Arabia.
Before descending into an out of character rant, which brought criticism from the boxing world and forced him into an apology, ‘AJ’ snapped when Lomachenko tried to praise him for showing so much heart:
Anthony Joshua fuming as Vasyl Lomachenko attempts to console him in the ring after the Oleksandr Usyk defeat: "F*** that s***, good boxing has to win."
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— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) August 21, 2022
The former lightweight world champion ‘Loma’, from Ukraine, is the son of Usyk’s trainer and attempted to console Joshua in the aftermath of his third defeat in five fights, only for the Olympic gold medallist from London 2012 to tell Lomachenko “f**k that sh*t” when discussing his heart showed in the fight.
Joshua has issued a statement about his behaviour in the aftermath of the defeat, insisting that he had let himself down. He has vowed to be better and revealed that discussions are already underway for him to make a return to the ring before the year is out.