Hopes of seeing Nigerian-born British boxer Anthony Joshua regaining his lost heavyweight boxing titles against Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk has been dashed again.
Late Saturday night in Saudi Arabia, Usyk defeated Joshua for the second time to defend his WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO world heavyweight titles.
While Uysk clearly dominated the first fight against Joshua, it was a bit different in Saturday’s rematch as the Nigeria-born fighter gave a better challenge even though it was still not enough to earn him the win he badly craved for.
At the end, Usyk did just enough to remain the undefeated champion.
Joshua certainly looked a lot better than he had 11 months prior but Usyk proved why he is one of the best pound for pound boxers in the world right now.
As one would have rightly predicted, both boxers started the first round on a cautious note although Usyk eventually found Joshua’s head and the challenger landing to the body.
In the second round, Joshua, the taller man, attempted to be more aggressive and let his right hand go, but it was still tough to find the target against the agile Usyk, who was able to land his jab quite regularly.
The third round was a closer one, and may have even gone the way of the Nigerian, but he was still not quite managing to let his hands go in the face of Usyk’s constant movement.
After a ding dong affair, the fight did come alive in the ninth round as Joshua found Usyk’s body early on and then sprang into action with several good combinations, pushing his opponent against the ropes and around the ring.
For all that Joshua had to give, Usyk had a bit more to offer and that eventually saw him being declared as winner via unanimous decision.
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