Tearful Joshua admits 'I'm upset deep down in my heart'
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Eddie Hearn and Anthony Joshua address the media after the Brit's defeat to  Oleksandr Usyk
Eddie Hearn and Anthony Joshua address the media after the Brit's defeat to Oleksandr Usyk

Anthony Joshua broke down in tears during his post-fight press conference after losing his rematch with unified world heavyweight champ Oleksandr Usyk.

Having been on the wrong end of a split decision in Jeddah, a fuming Joshua stormed out of the ring before returning to grab a mic and give an emotional speech. 

His decision to let everyone know how he was feeling stole the spotlight from Usyk immediately after the victory, which saw the Ukrainian add the vacant Ring belt to his IBF, WBA Super and WBO titles. 

Flanked by promoter Eddie Hearn and manager Freddie Cunningham, AJ tried to explain the outburst as the dust began to settle. 

Choking back tears, the 32-year-old Brit said: "Am I proud of myself? It’s really hard for me to say I’m proud of myself.

"I don't feeling anything. I'm upset deep down in my heart. When you try and do things from the heart, not everyone is going to understand. 

"I was mad at myself. Not at anyone, just at myself.

"So I thought, 'I've got to get out of here because I'm mad'. Like anyone when you're angry, you might do stupid things.

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"Then I realised this is a sport and I had to do the right thing. I just spoke from my heart. 

"It's been so tough. You see AJ holding it together. I'm a hustler so I try and hold things together and I try and work hard, put things together, make sure my team's good. 

"But it comes at a cost, a big cost. It'll never break me, but it takes real strength for it not to.

"There's a little crack in that armour because I took a loss. I think you just saw me upset. 

"I'm a fighter. I'm not a normal person, even though I try to hold it together. I was just in war mode."

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