Joshua was defeated twice by Usyk to become the undisputed heavyweight world champion, and following their rematch in Saudi Arabia, the British fighter broke down.
Oleksandr Usyk has maintained that he has no ill will towards Anthony Joshua, even after the latter’s emotional collapse threatened to overshadow their rematch.
In 2021, Joshua lost the heavyweight world belts against Usyk. The following year, they rematched, and Joshua lost again. However, following his second defeat, Joshua gave an impassioned and tearful statement, threw Usyk’s belts on the floor, and walked out of the ring.
Joshua later apologised for his actions and has since recorded four victories to thrust himself back into world title contention. He will target the winner of Usyk’s clash with Tyson Fury for all four belts which is due to take place in Saudi Arabia on May 18.
In an interview with the BBC, Joshua said: “Listen, I’m not perfect. It’s not the right thing to have done. I didn’t speak to Usyk but I spoke to Wladimir [Klitschko] and said give yourself a pat on the shoulder and tell him ‘well done and I apologise’, that’s man-to-man.
“But it was just raw, it may not make sense to a lot of people but it made a lot of sense to me and it was just how much it means, to a degree. I thought I would feel like that at the end of my career and when it’s all said and done I’d just be like ‘wow, what a rollercoaster, I made it through the trenches’.”
And when asked by Seconds Out if he accepted Joshua’s apology, Usyk said: “Yes, definitely. Listen, I have no bad feelings about Joshua because I respect this man. He is a great man, a great boxer, an Olympic champion and a two-time world champion. It was emotion and I respect him, no problem Anthony.”
Joshua knocked out former UFC champion Francis Ngannou last month and could be ringside in Riyadh to watch Usyk and Fury meet to crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999.
His route to a clash with the winner has become clearer with the Londoner being lined up to fight either Daniel Dubois or Filip Hrgovic in September before a clash with Fury or Usyk towards the end of the year.
