Eddie Hearn in confrontation with fan after Anthony Joshua defeat to Usyk

Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn was involved in a heated exchange of words with a fan in the immediate aftermath of Anthony Joshua's defeat to Ukrainian heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk.

It was a night to remember for Joshua's opponent Usyk, who never looked like losing as he asserted his dominance on the contest from the first bell in front of a packed out crowd at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium to ensure he became WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion.

While there was no spectacular knock-out, Usyk secured his win via unanimous decision – the three ringside judges scoring the bout 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113 in favour of the Ukrainan who dished out the second defeat of Joshua's career.

The 2012 Olympic Gold medalist left the ring immediately after the result was announced, instead opting to return to the dressing room with his entourage in tow while Usyk proudly donned his new belts.

Hearn was walking right behind Joshua when he heard a comment he took issue with from one member of the crowd.

That prompted Hearn to angrily respond, demanding to hear precisely what was said before telling the other party to sit down.

After the bout, Hearn explained that Joshua was already discussing a rematch bout with Usyk in the dressing room as they prepare to trigger the rematch clause.

"It's going to be really difficult because Usyk's confidence will be sky high, but when you get to the level of Anthony Joshua, as we saw after the Ruiz defeat, there's no 10-round comeback fights and warm-ups," Hearn told Sky Sports.

"It's straight back into the fire and he will want to go straight back into that rematch. He will be an underdog in the rematch this time after that tonight, but that's what he does."

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Hearn continued, saying: "It was a tough fight, a gruelling fight. He's not quite talking the way you would expect him to talk at the moment. Devastated. He's already talking about training again.

"They want to look at the eye socket. He says it's fine, but a devastating defeat.

"Obviously congratulations to Oleksandr Usyk. What a fighter. He put in a great performance tonight and the better man won."

While he did not conduct an interview himself, Joshua did issue an update to his fans via social media after the fight.

"Keep positive even if the world's crumbling in front of you," he wrote. "London I love you & thank you each and every time!"

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