In stark contrast to fellow former heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder – who, as we all know, came up with just about every excuse in the book after his rematch loss to Tyson Fury – Anthony Joshua has come up with zero alibis for his loss to Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua, who lost for the second time in his pro career in falling to Usyk via unanimous decision, has broken his silence in taking to social media to send his fans a short message.
“I’ve watched the fight, analyzed my preparations & identified my mistakes. I’ve learned my lesson. Thanks for sending love & checking in. Don’t worry about me. My spirit is strong!” Joshua wrote on his Twitter page today.
But can AJ get revenge over Usyk? In terms of mistakes made, the overall feeling amongst fight fans is Joshua’s biggest error was not trying to use his advantages in strength and weight, that he never tried to bully Usyk or rough him up and do his best to make it a physical fight. Instead, as we all saw, Joshua tried to outbox Usyk. This proved to be a big mistake.
But if Joshua, 24-2(22), can come up with a new game-plan for the expected return fight (maybe in February or March; where very much remains to be seen), so can Usyk.
After his big win, the southpaw from Ukraine said he can be “much better” in the rematch. Will the 19-0(13) Usyk, with his vast ring I.Q, his slick skills, and his astonishing inner toughness, always be one step ahead of Joshua?
The rematch is a big fight, no doubt, and a very interesting fight. Repeat or revenge? Another big question is, what would Joshua do if he did suffer back-to-back defeats at the hands of Usyk?
Absolutely everything will be on the line in the second fight. For now, at least Joshua is not making any silly excuses for his loss. In terms of how to behave like a true sportsman, Joshua has made no mistakes.