Frazer Clarke backs Anthony Joshua to bounce back from Oleksandr Usyk defeat

Frazer Clarke has tipped Anthony Joshua to bounce back after he failed to regain his world heavyweight titles against Oleksandr Usyk last month.

Joshua was looking for redemption after Usyk beat him convincingly on points last September, and he headed to Saudi Arabia hoping to become a three-time champion.

However, he was unable to get the better of the Ukrainian once again, as Usyk picked up a split decision victory to retain his belts.

Frazer Clarke has backed his fellow Brit to come back stronger after his latest defeat

Clarke has spoken to Joshua since, and admitted that the Brit is struggling to come to terms with his loss.

He feels that Joshua will get through this difficult period, though, and put the defeat against Usyk behind him.

‘He’s obviously disappointed. For some reason, he feels like he let himself and other people down even though he pushed Usyk all the way,’ Clarke told Sportsmail.

‘When you lose you go into a dark place because you think you’re invincible. He’s allowed to be in a dark place at the moment, but he’ll come through the other side.’

Joshua was visibly emotional after the verdict was read out in Jeddah, and reacted by throwing two of Usyk’s titles out of the ring before taking the microphone and giving a passionate speech to the crowd.

Clarke was in the Sky Sports studio at the time, and apologised on Joshua’s behalf for his ‘out of character’ behaviour after the fight.

Joshua grabbed the microphone and spoke passionately to the crowd after his loss to Usyk 

He also threw two belts out of the ring as he struggled to come to terms with losing to Usyk

Clarke was critical of Joshua’s team, which included head trainer Robert Garcia (above), but he has now defended Joshua’s corner and said they did ‘very well’ in the fight

He was also critical of Joshua’s team for not stopping him, claiming the 2012 gold medallist had been ‘left out to dry’.

Joshua and Clarke both work with trainer Angel Fernandez, while the former also had Robert Garcia in his corner for the first time against Usyk.

There is some uncertainty as to whether Joshua will continue with his current setup, but Clarke has now praised Joshua’s corner for their work in the Usyk rematch, and has conceded that they had little chance of preventing his uncharacteristic outburst.

‘I think the training team did very well. They and Anthony will learn from this and get better from this.

‘To stop a beast of a man like Anthony (from taking the microphone) would have been very hard to do.’

Clarke himself is back in action on Saturday when he fights on the undercard of Liam Smith’s clash with Hassan Mwakinyo in Liverpool.

Clarke won Olympic bronze last year and is now trying to make his way as a professional

After deciding to turn professional last December off the back of winning a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, Clarke’s progress has been far from seamless due to a hand injury.

He is now set for his second bout in a little over a month, though, and is ready to make up for lost time. The 31-year-old is targeting two more fights if he gets through Saturday’s fight before the end of 2022.

‘Now is the time to do it (start fighting regularly). Momentum in the first year is very important.

‘If we can get another two (by the end of 2022), that would be great. But I’m fully focused on Saturday first.’

Clarke’s first two fights in the paid ranks have failed to go beyond the second round, with the referee mercifully jumping in on both occasions.

Clarke returns to the ring on Saturday, looking to pick up his third straight win in the paid ranks

Getting a few rounds in the bank on Saturday may not be a bad thing for Clarke as he looks to gain experience as a professional, and he has insisted that he does not go searching for knockouts when he gets in the ring.

However, he has made it clear that if the chance presents itself, he will have no hesitation in bringing his next contest to an early conclusion.

‘I don’t go out there looking to knock people out, I go out there to box. But if opportunities come to get them out of there, you take it.’ 

Clarke’s former GB team-mate Joe Joyce is also in action later this month when he faces New Zealand’s Joseph Parker.

Clarke thinks he can secure a fight with former GB team-mate Joe Joyce in the future

Clarke and Joyce faced each other on multiple occasions in the amateurs, and the latter has since gone on to put himself on the brink of a world title shot.

Although Clarke is still finding his feet in the professional game, he believes he can bridge the gap to Joyce and set up another clash with the 36-year-old down the line.

‘I think it is destined for me and Joe to share the ring again. 

‘I hope to make the right fights and the right results to get me at the same level as Joe.’