Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk 2 LIVE: Result and reaction as Usyk wins thrilling fight by split decision
Follow the reaction as Usyk beats AJ in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia before some bizarre post-fight shenanigans
Oleksandr Usyk retained his world heavyweight titles with a split decision win over Anthony Joshua on Saturday in a rematch in Saudi Arabia that was closer than last year’s first fight.
Both fighters held up the blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag as the judges’ scores were read out at King Abdullah Sport City arena. When he was declared the winner, Usyk hid his face behind the flag. The 35-year-old Usyk kept his WBA, WBO and IBF belts six months after serving in the Ukrainian army as part of the country’s defence against Russia’s invasion.
Joshua was much improved but Usyk demonstrated his technical brilliance to triumph 115-113, 116-112, 113-115 on the scorecards. After the fight, Joshua stormed out of the ring before returning and giving a bizarre speech to the crowd.
Follow reaction from Joshua’s defeat below:
Anthony Joshua has received criticism for his post-fight speech following his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in Saturday night’s heavyweight world title fight.
Joshua was accused of “stealing Usyk’s moment” by former world champion Carl Froch after taking the microphone and giving a bizarre outburst to the crowd following his split decision loss in their world heavyweight title rematch.
Having gone down 115-113, 116-112, 113-115 on the scorecards after an improved performance in the rematch of their one-sided initial contest, Joshua stormed out of the ring before returning, chucking away a couple of the belts and then taking the microphone.
Joshua was “left out to dry by his team”, who should have stopped him during his post-fight rant, Frazer Clarke added.
The scenes slightly took away from Usyk’s moment, although the Brit was speaking from the heart and was largely complimentary of the Ukrainian. Here is Joshua’s speech in full:
Tyson Fury reacts as Oleksandr Usyk beats Anthony Joshua again
Tyson Fury has labelled Oleksandr Usyk’s second win against Anthony Joshua as one of the ‘worst heavyweight title fights’ he has ever seen, declaring that he would beat both fighters in one night.
Usyk earned a split-decision win against Joshua in Saudi Arabia, retaining the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts against the Briton, whom the Ukrainian dethroned last September with a unanimous-decision victory.
Fury has claimed to be retired but has not yet relinquished the WBC heavyweight title, and the Briton hinted that he could return for a clash with Usyk to crown an undisputed heavyweight champion.
Here’s what Fury had to say:
Tyson Fury reacts as Oleksandr Usyk beats Anthony Joshua again
Fury has claimed to be retired but hinted that he could return for a clash with Usyk to crown an undisputed heavyweight champion
Oleksandr Usyk sends Tyson Fury message after retaining heavyweight titles over Anthony Joshua
Oleksandr Usyk has called on Tyson Fury to come out of retirement and maintains he will not fight again unless it is against the Briton.
The Ukrainian defended his world heavyweight titles with victory via split decision over Anthony Joshua in a rematch.
Usyk now only lacks the WBC title, held by Fury, with the 35-year-old eager to take on the ‘Gypsy King’ to become the undisputed world heavyweight champion.
Oleksandr Usyk sends Tyson Fury message after retaining heavyweight titles
The Ukrainian retained his titles and is now seeking a showdown with Fury to crown the undisputed world heavyweight champion
Anthony Joshua outburst in full after defeat to Oleksandr Usyk
Joshua said after returning to the ring following an altercation after dropping a split decision to Usyk, telling his opponent: “I don’t care about strong, I am skilled, skills win boxing, you’re not strong, how did you beat me? How? I had character and determination.”
He then added: “If you knew my story you’d understand the passion. I’m no amateur boxer from five years old, that was an elite prospect from a youth. I was going jail, I got bailed, then I trained my arse off. Because if I got sentenced I wanted to be able to fight. I’m stealing this Usyk, sorry.
“It’s because the passion to get into this shit. This guy, to beat me, tonight maybe I could’ve done better. It shows the levels of hard work he must’ve had to put in. Please give him a round of applause as our heavyweight champion of the world. I’m not a 12-round fight, look at me, I’m a new breed of heavyweight.
“Heavyweights like Mike Tyson, Sonny Liston, Jack Dempsey, ‘You don’t throw combinations like Rocky Marciano!’ Because I ain’t 14 stone, that’s why, I’m 18 stone, that’s why, I’m heavy.
“It's hard work, this guy is a phenomenal talent, we're going to cheer for him three times. How many belts you got now bro, five? Hooray. I was studying Ukraine and their champions from your amazing country.
“I've never been there, but at the same time, what's happening there, I don't know what's happening. It's not nice, I've seen it in Lomachenko's second fight. There were issues, civil war. Vitali Klitschko against Danny Williams, civil unrest. Usyk, as a champion, please raise your hand, under those circumstances you became a champion. Champ, champ.”
Reaction to Joshua outburst after Usyk defeat
Okolie: “I’m sure he will regret it, it was Usyk’s time. We can only imagine the pressure he’s under. It’s a reflection of boxing. He was left alone by his team. A war and nobody stepped in to do the right thing.”
Froch: “He stole Usyk’s moment. He didn’t say anything that would offend anybody too much. He stole Usyk’s moment. He was emotionally built up. I didn’t like the belts being chucked. It was disrespectful.”
Anthony Joshua ‘left out to dry by his team’ during post-fight outburst, says Frazer Clarke
Anthony Joshua was “left out to dry by his team”, who should have stopped him during his post-fight outburst following defeat to Oleksandr Usyk, says Frazer Clarke.
After an enthralling heavyweight world title fight rematch that Usyk won by split decision, an emotional Joshua firstly stormed out of the ring before returning, chucking away a couple of the belts and then taking the microphone to give an odd speech to the crowd.
The bizarre scenes slightly overshadowed Usyk’s moment, although the Brit was speaking from the heart and was largely complimentary of the Ukrainian.
“I am giving you my story,” he said. “I was going to jail. I got bailed and started training my arse off, because if I got sentenced then I would not have been able to fight.
Anthony Joshua ‘left out to dry by his team’ during post-fight outburst
Joshua gave a bizarre speech to the crowd following his split decision defeat in Saudi Arabia
Usyk vs Joshua 2 reaction
Clarke urges AJ to go for a holiday, recover and come back stronger.
Macklin: “It was strange. Emotions running high. He was probably a bit concussed.
“Everybody knocking him, we’re not dealing with that. He’s disappointed. He pushed himself to the limit. The timing wasn’t great.”
Nelson: “That was Joshua’s best performance ever, heart, passion, determination, he was just beaten by the better man.
“We have to give him credit for his achievements. He’ll kick himself, the mask was off. He was saying what he wanted to say. What will he do? Carl said it right, what will his motivation be?”
Reaction to Joshua outburst after Usyk defeat
Clarke: “I feel like he was left out to dry by his team. Somebody should’ve saved him from himself. In the true sense of boxing, that was Usyk’s time to celebrate, I don’t think it was right. Anthony has done a lot of good, but he had a bad one there. There are no excuses, that was Usyk’s time. Somebody should’ve stopped him, saved himself.
“Nobody feels it as much as Anthony. He’s not a normal boxer. The pressure I feel vs Joshua, it’s chalk and cheese. Maybe boiled over there. Maybe heated. Let’s not judge him on that, Joshua I know, a nice respectful human being. He boiled over there. Maybe he’s concussed. After a fight, your head is all over the place. Maybe not what he said, the time. If I was there, I would’ve took a dig to take the microphone off him. Give him a minute to compose himself.”
Eddie Hearn reacts to Anthony Joshua defeat to Oleksandr Usyk
Hearn: “What a performance fro Usyk. The ninth round I thought we had him. The 10th what a round to turn it back around, the 10th, 11th and 12th, it was incredible.
“AJ fought a better fight. He hurt him in the ninth, but he came out like a train.
“It was an incredible performance he’s just too good. The reaction from AJ, a human, so much pressure, he exploded, he was devastated. He’s a competitor and a woman. He’s pound for pound No 1.
“They asked me, I thought it was close. I thought 115-113. I had it very close. Maybe AJ one round up after the ninth. A great performance from Anthony Joshua.
“They’re both tremendous fighters. Fury is a clever man, he could’ve fought Usyk, he chose not to. AJ was desperate to win the fight. He lost a split decision to the pound-for-pound No1. He needs to go back, rebuild, get the frustration out, but also be happy.”
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