ANTHONY JOSHUA couldn't see his right eye in the ninth round of Oleksandr Usyk's battering.
Londoner stunned by victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where his Ukrainian opponent won an emphatic unanimous points win.
Joshua did not make the most of his 18lb weight advantage against Usyk, former cruiserweight king. Usyk landed a series of heavy southpaw shots throughout bout.
AJ was clearly visible with a swollen and black eye by the end of the 10th round. Usyk won the bout.
The Ukrainian won the last round with a flourish to seal the verdict at White Hart Lane.
AJ later admitted that he couldn’t see, which was a new experience.
He stated, "It was terrible at one point but it's improving now.
"From the ninth, I couldn't see. "I couldn't really see anything."
"My eye was closed, but it was a positive experience. In adversity, you just have to learn to control your emotions and keep on top of the situation.
"So, when I couldn’t see anything...
It's the first fight I've ever seen it happen so I thought, "ok cool, this fight is the first fight my eye has closed, I can't even see anything, I'm just looking out of one eye."
"But it got better with each round, and we'll return."
Eddie Hearn, Matchroom Promoter, confirmed that the Brit would visit the hospital to see if his eye socket is fractured.
Hearn stated to BBC 5 Live that he would go to the hospital.
"I don’t know if he has fractured his eye socket. It doesn’t look great."
Hearn said that he could not see after the ninth round. Evidently, he was being tagged a lot.
"His power seemed to have run out, the tank was empty, and his heart was what kept him upright in the 12th round."
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