Anthony Joshua on Saturday said he would like to take on Oleksandr Usyk again, moments after losing his heavyweight titles to the Ukrainian.
The Nigerian-born British fighter touted himself as “a different animal, not a sulker,” assuring that he “will bounce back” from his defeat last night at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in England.
Joshua, 31, said he “couldn’t see in round nine” in the 12-round fight with Usyk. He has since been hospitalised to treat a broken eye socket. “I can’t go back and sulk – that’s wasting time,” Joshua said.
Joshua’s manager Eddie Hearn said a rematch may occur with Usyk because last night’s result was largely about Joshua’s errors and not necessarily because Usyk was a better fighter.
“He will have to make fundamental changes, he will have to box differently,” Mr Hearn told BBC Radio 5 Live shortly after the fight. “I can’t see AJ taking a 10-round fight, he boxes twice a year and maybe that is something we will have to look at.”
“He is going to go away and all he will do is think about Oleksandr Usyk. He will be thinking: ‘How can I beat him, how can I improve?’ He is obsessed with improving,’’ he added. “I just feel there is so much more Anthony Joshua in that fight but he will have to do a lot more in the rematch to be victorious.”
But Frank Warren, one of Tyson Fury’s promoters, said the British fighter is now unlikely to fight Joshua following last night’s outing.
“I don’t see it happening now,” Mr Warren told BBC Sport. “If it did happen, what would Tyson have done to him? It wouldn’t have gone 12 rounds. Tyson would have destroyed him. Absolutely. The unification fight was there, such a big fight. Heartbreaking.”
Mr Warren also said Usyk was the better fighter last night and decidedly defeated Joshua, notwithstanding the hype that Joshua had received prior to the face off.
He “didn’t have any tactics,” Mr Warren said of Joshua. “Usyk is a good fighter, he boxed extremely well.”
