Oleksandr Usyk has claimed his corner told him not to knock Anthony Joshua out during their fight last night at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Ukrainian, who defeated Joshua via unanimous decision with scores of 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113, told the press that his refrain from doing so was something he and his team had planned.
"This means a lot to me," he said, as quoted by GiveMeSport. "The fight went exactly the way I expected it to go. There were times when Joshua pushed me hard but nothing special. I had no objective to knock him out.
My corner pushed me not to do that. My trainer said no and to stick to my job."
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The 34 year old also admitted that he can perform better but that a rematch with AJ is not on his mind.
"I've been working so hard since January," he continued. "It took me some half a year. I miss my children. I want to go home. I'm not thinking about the rematch. You didn't see the best Usyk. I can be much better."
He also took to Instagram after the fight to thank his fans for their support.
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Meanwhile Joshua, who is rumoured to have suffered a broken eye socket in the ring, has promised he will come back stronger and activate the rematch clause in his contract with the former cruiserweight champion.
"I can't go back and sulk- that's wasting time," the 31 year old said, as quoted by BBC Sport. "It was a good experience because in adversity you've got to learn to control yourself, stay on top of things, so when I couldn't see anything- it's the first time that's happened in a fight.
"When I was walking back through the tunnel, I just said to myself 'I'm ready to get back to the gym, I'm ready to just put that work in'.
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"I just want to get back to the gym, get back on the grind and improve, so when I fight these good guys and see that they are hurt I can capitalise on the opportunity.
"I'm not going to be going home and be crying about it, because this is war. It's a long process. This isn't just one fight and then I'm done."
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Anthony Joshua, Heavyweight