Eddie Hearn has opened up about his fears that Anthony Joshua's enraged father was going to "chin" him after his son's shock defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr.
Robert Joshua was furious with the fight and the 40-year-old promoter thought he was in the direct firing line.
And AJ's father made his feelings perfectly clear towards Hearn in the ring at Madison Square Garden, as footage showed him irate and yelling at the Matchroom Sport managing director.
Hearn has now lifted the lid on the incident and admitted his worries that Robert would aim for his chin.
"We don't talk, like ever, and it was a bit of a shock and, at the time, I was looking at [Joshua's dad] and thinking, 'He might chin me now!" he told iFL TV.
"It was one of those things where he was about to chin me, and I was thinking, 'Let's just talk after because I didn't want that kind of situation in the ring.'"
Fans were stunned after Joshua's loss, but there were rumblings that the 29-year-old Brit had suffered a heavy knock during sparring and also a panic attack in the dressing room.
While some connected the aforementioned reasons to Robert's anger, Hearn went on to dismiss the rumours and insisted AJ's dad would have directed his rage towards anyone.
"He was gunning for everybody, but unfortunately, I got copped on TV. He said he was unhappy with the house, the set up of the house, with the referee, a whole load of stuff," he explained.
"Then, when I went round the back, he started again and Josh went just said, 'Dad, it's me, it's on me, I lost, no-one else's fault.' That was all that was said."
Ruiz Jr put on a stunning display against Joshua, climbing off the canvas in a third-round knockdown to drop his opponent twice.
The 29-year-old Mexican-American boxer, who came in at short notice to replace Jarrell Miller, knocked AJ down a further two times in the seventh before securing a memorable TKO win.
Hearn has confirmed that the rematch clause has been activated and the second bout is expected to take place in November or December.
AJ or Ruiz Jr to win the rematch?
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Featured Image Credit: Sky SportsTopics: AJ, Boxing News, Andy Ruiz Jr, Anthony Joshua, Boxing, Eddie Hearn, US