Heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk found himself caught up in the excitement surrounding Daniel Dubois’ fifth-round knockout victory over Anthony Joshua. Initially, Usyk shared that he wasn’t surprised by the result but later completely contradicted himself by admitting that he had expected Joshua to come out on top in the bout.
The reigning heavyweight boxing champion attended the colossal fight between Dubois and Joshua at Wembley Stadium. Despite holding the IBF heavyweight championship, Dubois was an underdog in the fight.
As Usyk made his way out of the arena, media members sped to keep up with the Ukrainian fighter to get his reaction to the fifth-round finish. While posing for photos with fans, Usyk was asked if he was surprised by the result, to which he candidly responded, “No, no, no,” adding, “It’s boxing. I don’t know,” as he hurried through the Wembley corridors.
After collecting his thoughts, Usyk provided a more reflective yet contradictory take on the fight in an interview with SkySports. Through a translator, Usyk shared his initial belief that Joshua should have come out victorious. “I thought Joshua should have won, but who knows? It’s boxing,” Usyk said.
When asked further about his reaction to the fight’s power and pace, the Ukrainian fighter admitted, “For me, it was a surprise. I was expecting that Anthony was going to win the fight.”
Speaking to Boxing King Media Usyk said:
“You know Anthony Joshua stepped like this (his footwork was off).”
He added:
“His footwork was the issue. The mentality (of Joshua) was the issue. Everything was the issue. I thought I seen the face of the man of AJ but he was completely different on the inside. He didn’t look the way we expected him to look. Did you see his right hand, it was all the way on his chest. You know his chin (AJ’s) chin was up, it was like a (gift) a fairytale for any boxer.”
Many indeed pointed to the poor defense from Joshua tonight.
The two fighters really went toe to toe at times and through caution to the wind.
What an amazing fight all round.
Dubois shocked the boxing world on Saturday night, delivering a dominant performance to upset the former heavyweight champion at Wembley Stadium. The champion scored knockouts in four rounds and 46 percent of his punches, including 27 high-impact shots.
Joshua’s record fell to 28-4, while Dubois improved his professional record to 22-2 with the win. Joshua’s manager, Eddie Hearnsuggested that his fighter would activate his rematch clause after taking time off to recover from the loss.
Three days before the fight, Usyk was at the center of controversy after videos surfaced online of the boxer appearing to be detained by Polish authorities at Krakow Airport. He was said to be en route to the Joshua-Dubois fight and released a statement after the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also expressed no wrongdoing by the boxer online.
“Dear friends. A misunderstanding took place. It was quickly resolved. Thanks to all who got concerned,” said Usyk on Instagram Live.
“Thanks to Ukrainian diplomats for the efficient support. And respect to the Polish Police for conducting their obligations with no regard to height, weight, reach, and regalia.”
Usyk said he would return to training camp on Monday as he gears up for his rematch and title defense against Tyson Fury on Dec 21. The heavyweights originally fought at a sold-out Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia. Usyk edged out a split decision victory to become the first unanimous heavyweight boxing champion since 1999.
