26th September, 2021
New heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk says the only thing he wanted to do with the fight against defeated Anthony Joshua was to give praise to Jesus Christ.
Usyk was crowned the new unified world heavyweight champion after a unanimous decision win over Joshua in front of 67,000 fans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The judges scored the fight 117-112, 116-112, 115-113 for Usyk.
However, in an interview with Sky Sports, the new champion said the fight meant a lot for him and that it went the way he expected it to go.
Usyk said he had no objective to knock out Joshua because his corner pushed him not to so so.
He said: “This means a lot for me. The fight went the way I expected it to go. There were moments when Anthony pushed me hard but it was nothing special.
“I had no objective to knock him out because my corner pushed me not to do that. In the beginning, I tried to hit him hard, but then I stuck to my job.
“The only thing I wanted to do with this fight is to give praise to Jesus Christ.
“I have been working so hard since January in preparation for this fight, it took me half a year and I didn’t see my family for so long. I missed seeing them playing.
“I want to go home and be happy with my family and I’m not thinking about the rematch.”