Anthony Joshua’s Oleksandr Usyk loss named ‘best AJ performance ever’ in surprise verdict

Johnny Nelson is convinced Anthony Joshua’s performance against Oleksandr Usyk last night was the ‘best of his career’ despite falling to defeat. The former cruiserweight world champion was on the Sky Sports panel for the heavyweight epic and piled praise onto ‘AJ’ for the “heart, passion, and determination” he showed during the Saudi showdown.

Joshua’s performance was a marked improvement upon his last but wasn’t enough to get the nod on the night. Despite his best efforts, Joshua was defeated via split decision with scorecards of 115-113, 113-115, and 116-12. At the end of the contest, a clearly frustrated and dazed Joshua stormed out of the ring and threw down the Ring Magazine and WBA (super) belts before returning to deliver an impassioned speech.

His disappointment could be felt across the boxing world, but Nelson believes Joshua should be proud of his display.

Speaking during the Sky Sports broadcast, he said: “I think that was Anthony Joshua’s best performance ever because he showed heart, passion, determination. He was just beaten by the better man.

Before a final user concluded: “Great fight – Usyk will win, he’s an insane fighter and will go down as an all time great. Genuinely think this was AJ’s best performance of his career, he competed with an unreal fighter, showed heart and made it tough for Usyk. He was just against a brilliant fighter.”

A lot was made of whether or not Joshua would retire if he lost to Usyk for a second time in Saudi Arabia but the Watford powerhouse announced during his post-fight press conference that he intends to stay active. Joshua will now set his sights on his next fight after a well-earned rest with suggestions being made by his promoter, Eddie Hearn, that the Brit will be back in action in December.