‘Almost like storming off a breakfast talk show, eh Piers?’
People on Twitter have called out Piers Morgan for hypocrisy after the controversial TalkTV host labelled Anthony Joshua’s post-fight antics “embarrassing.”
Joshua, 32, lost his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, 35, last night in a split-decision, with the Ukrainian fighter holding on to his WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles. When news of the win arrived, Joshua stormed out of the ring and proceeded to deliver a speech that some online deemed “bizarre” and out of character.
The moment quickly became the main headline from the event, with many commenting on it on social media – including Morgan, who took to Twitter to label Joshua’s actions “embarrassing.”
Embarrassing antics at the end by Joshua. He was beaten by a superior fighter who put on a magnificent performance of highly-skilled, supremely resilient boxing. Congrats @usykaa – a great champion & the pride of his nation. Moral of tonight: Ukrainians are hard as nails. 🇺🇦 👊 pic.twitter.com/bwVQbJZ9E4
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) August 20, 2022
Never one to shy away from sharing his opinion, Morgan wrote: “Embarrassing antics at the end by Joshua. He was beaten by a superior fighter who put on a magnificent performance of highly-skilled, supremely resilient boxing.
“Congrats @usykaa – a great champion & the pride of his nation. Moral of tonight: Ukrainians are hard as nails.”
However fellow Twitter users were quick to point out Morgan’s apparent hypocrisy – primarily due to the fact that he himself stormed off ITV’s Good Morning Britain back in March 2021 following an argument with co-presenter Alex Beresford involving actor-turned-Royal Meghan Markle.
“Must have watched you storm off set,” said one user, replying to Morgan’s tweet.
“Defo had a Piers Morgan moment” suggested another.
“Imagine being at work and having a weird moment like that, like walking off live on air,” pointed out a third.
He did a "You" special 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/Qqd6Ofu9TR
— Geo.Vallance (@VallanceGeo) August 20, 2022
Everyone does funny things when emotion takes over pic.twitter.com/xw5NXlSV4D
— Chris (@Mackem_chris) August 20, 2022
The British fighter has since clarified his actions during a post-show press event where he explained that his words and actions were “from the heart” before he became emotional and his promoter Eddie Hearn took over.
Meanwhile, another clip circulating the internet in the wake of last night’s fight appears to show Joshua having to be restrained by his security team after seemingly misinterpreting a comment from a fan.
Joshua can be heard shouting “‘Who the f**k are you talking to?” in response to a voice off-camera that says “keep it professional.”
Related links:
- Boxing fans blast ‘ludicrous scorecard’ after Joshua declared victor on one card
- Security forced to intervene after Joshua antics continue backstage
- Anthony Joshua explains why he stormed out of the ring in emotional post-fight press conference
