EDDIE HEARN insists that a "riot” would have broken out had he attempted to stop Anthony Joshua's passionate post-fight speech following his defeat to Oleksandr Uzyk.
Joshua, furious and devastated by his loss to Jeddah's unified heavyweight champion, went on an x-rated rant.
Anthony Joshua lost a narrow points victory to Oleksandr Uzyk last weekend
Joshua was furious after his post-fight conversation with Usyk
A fired up AJ launched an x-rated rant after the loss
Eddie Hearn, promoter of AJ believes that taking the mic from AJ would have sparked a riot
Joshua's team were later criticised for not cutting him off, allowing Usyk his time and making it more difficult than necessary. Hearn feels that this would have done more harm than good.
DAZN was told by him: "There are so much idiots out there with an opinion and go, "Oh my God, no one took the microphone from him."
"When he's feeling that way, it would have been terrible for someone to go over and take the microphone from him.
"There would have been an unrest in that ring, and it would have escalated horribly."
Hearn admitted Joshua's post-fight antics were not on, but he understands why.
He said, "It's all well and good for people to be smart after the fact, but the truth is, that he reacted badly to the ring.
He was frustrated. He'd worked 11 months to win this fight. He wanted to win more than any other thing in the world. But he behaved in ways he didn't know he should have.
Joshua, an emotional Joshua, apologised for his behavior in the post-fight press conference. He broke down in tears.
He said, "When you try to do things from your heart and everybody is just not understanding. It was pure heart. I was mad at my self. I was mad at myself, not anyone else.
"So, I thought, I have to get out of this place because I am mad. As with anyone else, anger can lead to stupid actions.
"I was crazy, and then I realized, 'Oh ***, that is sport. Let me do the right things and get back.
"I spoke only from my heart. It was so difficult.
"You can see AJ holding it all together, yeah. I'm a hustler, so I try to put everything together.
"Try to work hard, put things together, and make sure my teammates are happy.
In the aftermath of his fight, Joshua apologized for his actions and offered his condolences
It comes at a price, and it is a huge cost. Although it won't break me, it will take real strength to not break me. Tonight, I felt a crack in my armour after taking a loss.
"And I think that you saw me just getting upset. With the speech, I was only talking about my origins. It was the roads that I was really on.
"And I made the transition to boxing, which really changed my life. It brought me closer with God and allowed me to meet so many people.
"And I just kinda laid it all on line with my speech. Let's not forget Oleksandr Usyk, the champion. He also put on an amazing performance. He deserves all the credit.
"I don't know what I said in that ring, it was so passionate.
"But I just wanted to thank him for participating in such a historic fight. It takes two to tango. "I was so upset."
