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Oleksandr Usyk defeats Anthony Joshua in rematch (video)

By Jeremy Herriges

Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk (L) and Britain's Anthony Joshua (R) compete during the heavyweight boxing rematch for the WBA, WBO, IBO and IBF titles, at the King Abdullah Sports City Arena in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah, on August 20, 2022. - Usyk won his rematch against Anthony Joshua by split decision to retain his world heavyweight titles in just his fourth fight in the division in Saudi Arabia late tonight. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)
Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk (L) and Britain's Anthony Joshua (R) compete during the heavyweight boxing rematch for the WBA, WBO, IBO and IBF titles, at the King Abdullah Sports City Arena in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah, on August 20, 2022. - Usyk won his rematch against Anthony Joshua by split decision to retain his world heavyweight titles in just his fourth fight in the division in Saudi Arabia late tonight. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Oleksandr Usyk defended his heavyweight titles against Anthony Joshua in their rematch to prove that he’s a force in the heavyweight division.

Oleksandr Usyk proved that he’s a pound-for-pound great by besting Anthony Joshua for the second time in a row to retain his IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO titles.

Usyk and Joshua fought a highly competitive bout, but Usyk controlled the action and tallied enough points on the judges’ scorecards to win by split decision.

Usyk and Joshua fought to a stalemate for the first several rounds, but Usyk took over the fight from round 6 on.

Usyk’s hand speed and combinations were too much for Joshua. Joshua had success when working Usyk’s body, but he didn’t do it consistently enough.

Joshua had a surge in round 9, but Usyk repelled his momentum in rounds 10 through 12. The judges returned one score of 115-113 for Joshua and 116-112 and 115-113 for Usyk, giving him the victory by split decision in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Oleksandr Usyk defeats Anthony Joshua in their rematch by split decision to retain his heavyweight titles

Usyk won the titles from Joshua by unanimous decision in 2021 and repeated the performance almost a year later.

Usyk started training after serving in Ukraine’s army against Russian aggression. He was fighting on the frontlines but was eligible to resume boxing and made his return to the ring a success.

After the scores were read, Joshua oddly took over the mic and started to praise Usyk while adding added commentary.

Joshua spoke for several minutes and praised Usyk and himself. His speech was disjointed but was widely complimentary of his opponent.

Usyk stated that he expects Tyson Fury to remain in boxing during the post-fight interview. Fury announced his retirement but has done that several times.

Fury is the WBC champion but needs to make a decision on his future. Usyk controls the heavyweight division, but Usyk vs. Fury would be the biggest heavyweight bout in several decades. Time will tell if it happens.

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