Revealed: What Anthony Joshua said to Eddie Hearn immediately after Oleksandr Usyk’s historic victory over Tyson Fury to become undisputed world heavyweight champion
- Usyk defeated Fury on Saturday to become the first undisputed champion of the century
- Joshua sat ringside next to Cristiano Ronaldo to watch the fight in Riyadh
- He could face one of the two men in the near future after a likely rematch
Anthony Joshua’s first words after Tyson Fury’s heavy defeat to Oleksandr Usyk have been revealed.
The Brit had a front row seat for the crowning of his division’s first undisputed champion this century, with Usyk winning via split decision after upending his opponent in the ninth round.
The defeat was Fury’s first of his career, and he claimed after the fight that he felt he had won the fight and that people were siding with Ukrainian Usyk ‘because his country is at war’.
There will be a rematch later this year. We thought this wouldn’t be for the Undisputed Title, with Usyk forced to vacate his IBF title in the coming weeks.
The winner of that final fight could face Joshua, who, according to his promoter Eddie Hearn, picked the winner of the fight in the immediate aftermath.
What Anthony Joshua said immediately after Oleksandr Usyk’s historic victory over Tyson Fury has been revealed
Usyk (pictured) defeated Fury via split decision to be crowned the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the century
Joshua, who sat ringside next to Cristiano Ronaldo (center), spoke to Eddie Hearn immediately after the fight
Hear it BoxNation: ‘I went up to him after the fight and said, “What do you think? Who’s got it?”
“He said, ‘Are you kidding me?’ I said no”. He said: “Usyk is the clear winner”.
“I was like, ‘A lot of people felt that way.’ I let him win, but just barely.’
The post-fight scorecards showed that Usyk only needed to avoid a knockdown in the final round to win on points.
Manuel Oliver Palermo of Spain, Craig Metcalfe of Canada and Mike Fitzgerald of the United States were the judges for the fight in Riyadh, with Metcalfe giving the win to Fury but the other two to Usyk.
Fury controlled the fight early on, showing the Ukrainian battling the bigger man, but the eventual winner grew into the contest to control the middle and end of the fight to claim victory.
Fury’s promoter Frank Warren has said the rematch ‘will happen’ and is scheduled for October, which will again take place in October.
Hearn (pictured) revealed Joshua gave him his immediate reaction after the fight
Joshua could face Usyk for a third time after losing to the Ukrainian in both 2021 and 2022
Joshua, meanwhile, was spoken to Cristiano Ronaldo throughout the fight, as well as alongside the star footballer, who plays for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.
The Briton is looking to climb to the top of the heavyweight division himself after a devastating knockout win over Francis Ngannou in March, with many believing he will face the winner of the rematch.
He lost to Usyk twice in 2021 and then in 2022, but has never faced Fury in what would be one of the greatest British heavyweight fights of all time.