If there was any doubt that Oleksandr Usyk really was the better man when he beat Anthony Joshua in their first encounter, the Ukrainian cleared them in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. Usyk won the rematch to remain WBO, WBA and IBF heavyweight champion inside the Jeddah Superdome after a hard-fought 12 rounds by split decision in a fight where there was no doubt he deserved to be named the winner .
Joshua has shown he has made real adjustments since their September 2021 clash, fighting in a lower position and not falling for Usyk’s traps in the early rounds. This made it difficult for Usyk to really start early as he maintained his consistent lateral movement, but without the same attacking openings showing up as in the first encounter.
Usyk started to change his game plan starting in the fourth set as he began to understand the approach Joshua was taking. Rather than allowing Joshua to lead the fight and apply pressure, Usyk started circling more and pulling combinations with the intention of hitting Joshua more than hurting him with one blow. In response to Usyk’s adjustment, Joshua began to fall into the same traps as the first encounter, chasing Usyk and missing wildly at times.
However, it wasn’t all easy for Usyk as Joshua made a big adjustment himself, focusing his attack on Usyk’s body. A steady regimen of hooks and chest uppercuts slowed Usyk’s movement and opened his head.
It led to Joshua’s biggest moment in the fight – and the likeliest chance for him to have scored a save. In round 9, Joshua beat Usyk around the ring, seemingly stunning the champion multiple times throughout the frame.
Usyk, however, stayed on his feet and showed true championship quality in the last three rounds of the fight. Starting in round 10, Usyk increased his output dramatically, tagging Joshua with heavy hits on several occasions. Joshua’s bottom stance disappeared and he started fighting with very straight and slow legs as Usyk took over and secured a well deserved win.
The official scoreboards after the fight showed 115-113 and 116-112 for Usyk with an inexplicably flipped 115-113 card for Joshua.
After retaining three of the four recognized world heavyweight championships, Usyk faced the obvious question of whether he intended to seek to become the undisputed champion by tackling the WBC belt currently held by Tyson. Fury. Fury has repeatedly claimed he has retired from boxing, although many believe he could be brought back into the ring with the promise of an undisputed title fight.
“I’m sure Tyson Fury isn’t retired yet,” Usyk said in his post-fight interview. “I’m convinced that Tyson wants to fight me and I want to fight him. If I don’t fight him, I’m not fighting at all. God only knows whether I will or not.”
CBS Sports was with you throughout the event in Saudi Arabia, so be sure to follow the live results and highlights below.
Usyk vs. Joshua 2 fight card, results
- Oleksandr Usyk (c) def. Anthony Joshua via split decision (115-113, 113-115, 116-112)
- Filip Hrgovic defeats. Zhilei Zhang by unanimous decision (115-112, 115-112, 114-113)
- Callum Smith beats. Mathieu Bauderlique by KO in the fourth round
- Badou Jack beats. Richard Rivera via split decision (96-94, 94-96, 96-94)
Usyk vs. Joshua Scoreboard 2
| Usyk (c) | ten | 9 | 9 | ten | ten | ten | ten | 9 | 9 | ten | ten | ten | 116 |
| Joshua | 9 | ten | ten | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | ten | ten | 9 | 9 | 9 | 112 |