BOXING legend Mike Tyson was 'blown' away by Anthony Joshua's reaction to his devastating loss to Oleksandr Usyk.
AJ's second reign as unified heavyweight champion came to an end last weekend thanks to a masterful display from the Ukrainian at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Joshua, 31, has refused to dwell on the negative and has vowed to use the lesson he was taught as a means to improve.
And the Watford warrior's mentality following the crushing defeat has seen him gain even more respect from Iron Mike.
Tyson tweeted: "Just rewatched the fight with Joshua & [Usyk] I thought that the way they conducted themselves after the fight was first class.
"I like the way Joshua handles his losses with so much dignity.
"Everybody knows I got a little hater in me but my mind was just blown away seeing [it]."
Although Joshua came up short in the Tottenham tussle, Tyson reckons he was also a winner on the night.
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He continued: "These two men conduct themselves with so much class.
"That’s just what I saw when my ego wasn’t out of wack after the fight with two profound gentlemen.
"I think both of the fighters won that night, in my opinion."
Tyson believes Joshua adopted the wrong tactics for his clash with the undefeated Usyk and reckons he should've been aggressive from the outset.
He told ES News: "It was the speed more than anything that f***ed up Joshua.
"He started late, he's still learning. He can still learn, he's a baby."
Joshua admits he took the wrong approach for the Tottenham tussle, saying: "I've watched the fight, analysed my preparations and identified my mistakes.
"I've learnt my lesson. Don't worry about me. My spirit is strong!"
AJ is confident of besting the former cruiserweight king second time around, adding: "If you look at it from a negative point of view, you're never going to have that mindset that you can make a difference because you're down anyway.
"But if you look at it from a positive point of view, and realise, 'Yeah, I took a loss.
"'But that's a lesson, that's a blessing. I can use it as fuel to get better.
"'And use it as fuel to right my wrongs. You can only get better from there.
"So I'm not gonna hold myself down from the mistake I made, I'm only gonna uplift myself and say, 'Actually, you know what? That was a tough fight.
"'But from that fight, I'm gonna go away, get my notepad out and find ways to improve."
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