The 35-year-old Ukrainian proved hard to beat during the 12-round contest, maintaining his steely nerve to dominate Joshua with a number of heavy blows. Joshua appeared to break Usyk’s momentum in the ninth round and arrived a spell of punches on his opponent, before retreating in to defeat.
He was awarded a rating of 115-113 in one judge, but Usyk ultimately emerged the particular stronger contender plus earned scores of 115-113 and 116-112 through two judges to keep his WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, plus IBO heavyweight game titles.
Meanwhile, Ramla Ali won the girl contest against Amazingly Garcia Nova from the Dominican Republic in Saudi Arabia’s first ever female boxing suit.
The 32-year-old Ali won in a first-round knockout, improving the girl career record to 7-0.
Emotions run high
The heavyweight name rematch was charged as the “Rage for the Red Sea, inch a headline that will certainly captured the particular mood of the night time.
After suffering his second consecutive loss against Usyk, the 32-year-old Briton acquired two of the Ukrainian’s belts, threw them out of the ring plus charged towards their dressing room, before returning and taking the microphone to give a good impassioned speech .
“If you knew my story, you would understand the passion, ” Joshua said, adding of Usyk: “I’m telling you this guy to beat me tonight, maybe I could have done much better, but it shows the amount of hard work he must have put in therefore please give him a round of applause as our heavyweight champion of the globe. ”
Usyk claimed victory against the backdrop of Russia’s attack of Ukraine , a conflict that he is personally committed to.
Earlier this year the 35-year-old traveled back to their homeland and joined up with the territorial protection battalion in Kyiv to help out in the war efforts.
In March, Usyk received permission to return in order to training and prepare for his fight against Joshua, although he expressed reluctance at the time.
“I devote this victory to my country, to my family, to a team, to all the individuals, militaries who are defending the country, ” Usyk said with a translator after the battle. “Thank you quite, very much.
“This is already history, ” he added. “Many generations are likely to watch this battle, especially the circular when someone attempted to beat me hard. But I (withstood) it and switched it in a different way. inch
Usyk also clarified his desire to challenge Tyson Fury, just one week after the WBC heavyweight champion mentioned he is ready to “walk away” from boxing.
“I’m sure that Tyson Fury is not retired yet. I’m sure, I’m convinced he would like to fight me. I would like to fight him, ” Usyk said. “If I’m not fighting Tyson Fury, Now i am not fighting whatsoever. ”
‘I was mad on myself’
Joshua stopped working into tears throughout his post-match push conference, saying that he or she was “upset” simply by his performance on Saturday.
“It’s really, very hard for me to say Now i am proud of myself, ” he said. “I’m upset, really, serious down in my center. ”
He also explained his emotional episode after the match, incorporating: “When you try and do things from your heart, not everyone is going to understand. It was just from the heart. I actually knew I was mad at myself. Not really at anyone, just myself. I was like I got to get out there here because I’m mad.
“When you’re upset you might do ridiculous things, so I was mad. But then We realized this is sports activity, let me do the right thing. ”
Ahead of the rematch, fellow British boxers Carl Froch plus Kell Brook declared that a second defeat to Usyk would spell the end of Joshua’s boxing career.
Despite the gossips, the 32-year-old demonstrated no signs of dangling up his hand protection just yet.
“I’m a jet fighter for life. The craving for food never dies, inch he said.