ANTHONY JOSHUA won after eight rounds against Oleksandr Uzyk, but then he suffered a nasty eye injury in round nine. This triggered a panic attack.
This is according to Eddie Hearn, AJ's Matchroom promoter.
After eight rounds, Anthony Joshua beat Oleksandr Usyk
The Brit lost 115-112, 116-112, and 117-112 at Tottenham's stadium Saturday night. The exact score has been revealed.
Howard Foster won the bout 115-113, with the contest tied at 113 with just two rounds remaining.
Steve Weisfield awarded Usyk an additional point on his 116-112 card, and they were level after the eighth.
Viktor Fesechenko ruled that the Ukrainian had won the most by a wide margin, awarding Joshua 117 points instead of Joshua's 112.
Foster called Joshua up at 77-75 after the eighth. Weisfeld scored it equal and Fesechenko called It 77-76 for Usyk.
If the remaining rounds were all called as ties, then the Brit would have won.
However, his right eye continued swelling and preventing his vision. AJ admitted to this after he couldn't see clearly from the ninth round.
Usyk won the final round and took home unanimous points.
Hearn advised AJ that he had to trigger his Usyk rematch clause as soon as possible or risk never having the chance of winning his belts back.
Dillian Whyte, a fellow British heavyweight, also attacked AJ following the clash, calling the Londoner 'gun shyy and negative' and lacking ambition.
BBC 5 Live, The Body Snatcher said: "I told Joshua that if he tried to box, he would always lose."
He could have knocked him out in just the first round if he had not pushed the pace and bullied him.
He came out, and he was being negative. He seemed like a gun-shy fighter. Give it a shot, you're the larger man.
Joshua Vs Usyk LIVE See all post-fight reactions
"I don’t know. He lacked ambition in that ring there tonight.
"The first round saw Usyk land the first strong blow, and Joshua was a negative fighter.
"He was worried all the time when he got tagged with a right."
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