Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua 2 | Usyk Retained His Domination in Heavyweight After Win Against Anthony Joshua
FightersTalkTV.com – Once again, Oleksandr Usyk stopped Anthony Joshua in their 12-rounds rematch at the Jeddah Super Dome in Saudi Arabia, Saturday night. The Ukrainian still dominating the heavyweight division in top five world sanctioning organizations after he retaining his WBA (Super), WBO, IBO, and IBF titles in front of 30,000 fans.
“The Cat” Usyk, who is unbeaten in his twenty professional contests, showed his strategic wiliness to defeat the aggressiveness of Joshua in a class billed as the Rage On The Red Sea. Usyk won by a split decision where two judges scored 115-113 and 116-112, while the third gave Joshua 115-113.
With this victory Usyk secured all his belts and also took home The Ring title after it was vacated by Tyson Fury following his retirement. It means only the WBC belt he doesn’t have yet, which Fury currently holds until his official retirement letter is sent to World Boxing Council.
Usyk’s Brillian Perormance
The fight was not as much of a total domination for Usyk has their first meeting had been, but the undefeated champion was still easily the winner. 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.
The Ukrainian would have beaten most heavyweights on the night, as his speed of hands, footwork and fitness proved just too much for the former two time champion. At the bell, Usyk fell to his knees after an emotional few months in which he has fought for his country in the war with Russia.
JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA - AUGUST 20: Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine (R) in action against Anthony Joshua (L) of Great Britain during boxing rematch under the name of
Oleksandr Usyk once again earned a points win over Anthony Joshua on Saturday in Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Ayman Yaqoob/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
After a tentative first couple of minutes the pair then exchanged shots, with Usyk finding 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 Brit, but he was still not quite managing to let his hands go in the face of Usyk’s constant movement. Before the fight there was talk that Joshua was going to test his opponent with shots to the body, somewhere he may have been considered weaker.
Oleksandr Usyk took another deserved decision over Anthony Joshua
Oleksandr Usyk took another deserved decision over Anthony Joshua. (Photo: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
That increasingly became his target in the fourth and fifth rounds, with the Ukrainian even getting a time out for a low shot in the fifth, but Usyk still had plenty of his own moments. The pace massively slowed at the start of the sixth, AJ landed some shots when he eventually tried speeding things up but as usual his opponent once again landed himself.
The speed of both hands and feet from Usyk were causing his opponent all sorts of issues, and even when AJ landed a good body shot in the eighth he wasn’t able to keep him pinned down long enough to take advantage. Suddenly the fight really came alive in the ninth as Joshua found Usyk’s body early on and then sprang into action late in the rang with several good combinations, pushing his opponent against the ropes and around the ring.
Having taken the best that his opponent had to offer, Usyk came flying out of the gates in the first half of the 10th round and AJ was holding on. However, Joshua then landed a huge shot and staggered the champ back onto the ropes himself, before Usyk showed great recovery to absolutely dominate the end of the round.
El británico Anthony Joshua habla al público tras caer ante el ucraniano Oleksandr Usyk, en una pelea por el cetro de los medianos, realizada en la Ciudad Deportiva Rey Abdalá, Arabia Saudí, el sábado 21 de agosto de 2022 (AP Foto/Hassan Ammar)
An emotional Anthony Joshua gave Oleksandr Usyk credit for beating him Saturday in Saudi Arabia. (AP Foto/Hassan Ammar)
After more of the same at the start of the 11th, the Brit once again landed a good body shot, but it was a repeat of the rest of the fight as Usyk again shook it off to take the round. The 12th wasn’t too full of drama, though Joshua did look to find an end to the fight, with not much left to give from the challenger.
When the final bell rang everyone knew who the winner was, few, if anyone, would have got close to Usyk on the night.
Watch the Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua 2 highlight down below!
