The right man definitely got the decision, it should never have been a split decision win. I’ll give credit to AJ, I actually thought that he boxed quite well and made Usyk work very hard for the win. However, it was always going to be difficult to outbox such a clever boxer as Usyk. I would like to have seen AJ throw caution to the wind and let his hands go a bit earlier than the ninth round. As for the aftershow? I think AJ has had a difficult time since first losing to Ruiz jnr and then subsequently to Usyk. He has gone from this ultimate high to suddenly being criticised and having his ability questioned. Coupled with this, he knew it was always going to be difficult regaining his titles from Usyk and the frustration of wanting it so badly but falling short was hard to take. AJ was emotionally charged entering the ring and after the defeat, he almost preempted the criticism and let everything pour out.
I still think, as long as he has the desire, he is a big player on the world stage and there are big fights out there still for him. Personally, I would love to see him take on Wilder, which would still be a huge fight.
