Vintage Joshua delivers a knock-out blow... to himself

AJ’s points win will not please everyone, says Steve Bunce

- Steve Bunce

"No knockout, so no good," said Anthony Joshua late on Saturday night at the O2. Joshua had just been given a wide points decision over durable American Jermaine Franklin, and he was far from happy with his performance. He was raw and honest.

Franklin had survived through 12 rounds by holding, grappling and frustrating Joshua; it was often a repetitive watch, but the American's tactics are legitimate and legal parts of the boxing game. Joshua had once again simply failed to let his hands flow with the necessary intent. Joshua lost his last two fights and was accused of the same things.

In the ring at the end, Joshua knew that he could have and should have done more, and the personal disappointment was clear in his voice. He was brutal in his appraisal of the fight.

"There is no excuse," he told me in the ring. There is, even in defeat, never an excuse with Joshua. His critics often fail to acknowledge that the boxer is his own harshest critic; his honesty is searing.