Oleksandr Usyk defeated Anthony Joshua for a second time last night in Saudi Arabia, keeping hold of his unified heavyweight titles after split decision.
It was a famous - if predictable - victory for the Ukrainian, who has spent some of the intervening time between his last victory over Joshua defending his homeland from Russian invaders.
After the decision was announced, a petulant Joshua grabbed two of Usyk's belts and tossed them out of the ring.
Anthony Joshua lost his temper after losing his rematch to Oleksandr Usyk and reacted angrily by throwing two belts out of the ring. 🚨pic.twitter.com/VjS8z3UrGl
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) August 20, 2022
Joshua returned to the ring and gave a surreal speech to the crowd, that included Joshua giving three cheers to Usyk and a discussion of recent Ukrainian history
Anthony Joshua in tears
It was the third loss in five fights for the British fighter. In the post-match press conference, an emotional Joshua broke down in tears.
Here's how Joshua explained the strange scenes after the decision was announced.
"When you try and do things from your heart, not everyone is going to understand,"
"It was just from the heart. I knew I was mad at myself. Not at anyone, just myself. I was like I got to get out here because I'm mad."
"When you're angry you might do stupid things. Then I realised this is sport. I came back and did the right thing."
Promoter Eddie Hearn defended the actions of his fighter, called him a "role model" and called out the "dickheads" on social media who criticised him..
"If he's out in public, he gives everyone his time. He's one of the nicest guys. He's a competitor and winner.
"What you saw today was raw emotion. A real person who wanted to win badly."
He said Joshua wouldn't be retiring.
It's Joshua's second-consecutive loss to Usyk and the various outbursts were a sign of the extreme pressure he was under to deliver a victory of a superior technical fighter.
Usyk dedicated the victory to the Ukranian military and his country, and called out Tyson Fury.
"I devote this victory to my family, my country, my team, to all the military defending this country - thank you so much."
"I'm sure that Tyson Fury is not retired yet. I'm convinced he wants to fight me. I want to fight him. If I'm not fighting Fury, I'm not fighting at all.
