Usyk defeats Joshua again to retain world heavyweight titles

Oleksandr Usyk has retained his world heavyweight boxing titles after beating Anthony Joshua in a rematch in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

32-year-old Joshua showed a vast improvement from their first fight which he lost in September last year, but could still not match the brilliance and ring savviness of the Ukrainian.

Joshua lost the bout by split decision after 12 rounds.

Usyk retains his IBF, WBO, and WBA (Super) heavyweight belts, as well as picking up the Ring magazine title vacated by Tyson Fury.

Read Also: Joshua loses heavyweight world titles to Usyk by unanimous decision

Two judges scored the fight 115-113 and 116-112 to Usyk, while a third judge gave it 115-113 to the Joshua, but While there were some close rounds, Usyk was the deserved winner.

“For this guy to beat me tonight, it shows the levels of hard work he must have put in, so please give him a round of applause as heavyweight champion of world,” said Joshua after the defeat.

“They said that I’m not a 12-round fighter. I ain’t 14 stone, I’m 18 stone, I’m heavy. It’s hard work. This guy here is phenomenal.”

Joshua has now suffered back-to-back defeats against Usyk, as the Ukrainian will now attempt to coax Tyson Fury out of retirement for a lucrative showdown to become the first undisputed champion of boxing’s blue-riband division since the great Lennox Lewis.

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