Kamaru Usman still hasn’t forgiven himself for releasing footage of a vulnerable Anthony Joshua.
Usman became the target of criticism when he posted a video blog that included a conversation with Joshua in the aftermath of a fatal car accident that killed two of his closest friends. It was the first time Joshua had been seen or heard from since the Dec. 29 tragedy.
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According to Ariel Helwani of Uncrowned, Joshua and his team were not aware that he was being filmed or that the footage would be shared publicly, which has only heightened questions about the process on Usman’s end. The former UFC welterweight champion previously admitted fault and revealed he did not review the video in its entirety before it was posted to his YouTube channel.
On Thursday, Usman doubled down on his apology and said he still regrets how everything went down.
“It was a tough enough situation to where I had to make a public apology to which I’ve never done – ever,” Usman said on his “Pound4Pound Podcast” with Henry Cejudo. “Because I’ve never been in the situation where I had to do something like that. But it was necessary. It was necessary because the biggest thing as a man is I feel you have to take responsibility when you’ve messed up. Whether it was accidentally or not accidental, you have to take that full responsibility, and I have to. And I did that. I was angry for a lot of different situations.
“One, I was angry that I even – that was an oversight on my part by not watching my full video blog that was out to understand that that was in there. I was angry because that’s my fault. Anything that goes out on my channel, I am ultimately responsible for. I’m angry that I missed that. Second of all, I was angry because I have now put my Nigerian brother A.J. in another situation. For people to be judging and saying certain things like, ‘Why does this seem this way? why does that seem that way?’ I was angry hearing and seeing all of it. Most importantly, I was just angry at myself for even giving them a lane to even try to attack him that way. I take full responsibility. I can’t apologize enough. I feel terrible. I’m still feeling terrible because that’s my character, and that’s something I don’t play with.”
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More: Anthony Joshua memorializes teammates killed in Nigeria car crash
Joshua has yet to speak publicly about his traumatic experience in Nigeria. He has released a statement eulogizing his friends while speculation about his boxing future runs rampant just weeks after he knocked out Jake Paul on Netflix.
Usman, meanwhile, has been pushing for a title shot against welterweight champion Islam Makhachev in his next octagon appearance.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Kamaru Usman ‘can’t apologize enough’ for Anthony Joshua controversy
