One of the most controversial moments of Anthony Joshua’s career unfolded after his heavyweight title rematch loss to Oleksandr Usyk in 2022. Following a narrow split-decision defeat, a visibly furious Joshua grabbed two of Usyk’s championship belts and hurled them out of the ring before squaring up to members of the Ukrainian’s team, needing to be restrained by officials.
Joshua then stormed out of the ring, confronting people at ringside, before later returning after calming down. He subsequently delivered a rambling, emotional speech on the microphone that quickly went viral, marking a dramatic end to the fight.
The incident followed Joshua’s difficult period after losing his titles to Usyk in their first bout a year earlier, despite bouncing back from his shock defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr and defending his belts against Kubrat Pulev. Though Joshua showed improvement in the rematch, the loss left him frustrated and led to the outburst.
Now, as he prepares to face Jake Paul in Miami, Joshua’s past highs and lows remain under scrutiny, with talk also resurfacing of a long-awaited all-British showdown with Tyson Fury in 2026.
