Anthony Joshua vs Usyk LIVE: Fight result, reaction and boxing highlights
Follow live reaction after the Briton lost his IBF, WBO and WBA titles at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Follow live coverage after Oleksandr Usyk produced a flawless display of boxing to beat Anthony Joshua and dethrone him as world heavyweight champion.
The former unified cruiserweight champion was punch perfect as he hurt Joshua early and often on his way to a deserved and unanimous points victory (117-112, 116-112, 115-113) in front of more than 63,000 fans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Ukrainian’s performance hands Joshua only the second professional defeat of his career in just his third fight at heavyweight and leaves hopes of an all-British clash with Tyson Fury in tatters.
Instead a rematch to attempt win back his IBF, WBO and WBA straps will surely be next after a chastening evening for the now former champ. Follow live reaction and analysis below from a big night of boxing at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium:
Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk: Round 6
As we approach the halfway mark it’s Usyk who has a little mark under his right eye, presumably from the Joshua right hand towards the end of the fifth.
Both men take the first minute of the sixth round off as they analyse one another once more. Usyk lands a soft jab but other than that it’s a mixture of feints and head movement from the pair.
Usyk then lands a stiff left hand and Joshua can’t answer as he misses with a right down the pipe.
Oh but there’s a huge right from Joshua! There is just 20 seconds to go by the time the champion gets through but it looks to have worried Usyk a little here! He’s backing off and happy to see the bell.
A very good round for Joshua.
Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk: Round 5
Joshua looking a little sluggish at the moment, really struggling to deal with the skill and movement of Usyk. The commentators question whether he can keep this up but he has done in every one of his pro fights in the past so no reason to doubt he can’t again.
A nice shot from Joshua momentarily staggers Usyk but he’s off-balance more than hurt. A good right to the body from Joshua does land flush on the torso.
Left from Usyk is met with a right from Joshua and then another big shot from the champion! That tested the chin of Usyk! And another from the Brit!
Much better finish to the round from Joshua. Probably just got his first three minutes on the scoreboard.
Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk: Round 4
Usyk has been superb so far and probably won each of the first three rounds and it tells at the start of the fourth as Joshua stumbles and nearly falls over his own feet. Can the Ukrainian keep this up?
A quieter opening 90 seconds of the round as both men recover a little from those big blows at the end of the third. Joshua then gets through with a sharp right hand. The Brit then locks Usyk up in a clinch. He needs to utilise those clinches, lean on Usyk and make him feel the weight.
Nice left to the body from Usyk. His sensational footwork is allowing him to close the gap to Joshua.
A closer round but Usyk still getting the upper hand in my opinion.
Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk: Round 3
Joshua’s trainer Rob McCracken continually telling the Brit to ‘stay light on his feet’. He’s going to need to be if he is going to find a way through Usyk.
Lovely shots from Usyk at the start of the third! He jumps in when Joshua reaches and misses and the Ukrainian clips AJ with a right hand-left hook combo. Wonderful stuff.
Worth remembering we did expect Usyk to win the early rounds, but that should not take away from the fact that this has been a brilliant opening nine minutes from the challenger.
It’s been a bit of a chess match but there’s the first major blows! A huge left hook from Usyk gives Joshua’s legs a wobble and the Brit has to hold!
Then Joshua comes back with a big shot of his own! Both men landing bombs at the end of the round.
Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk: Round 2
The way Usyk perfectly judges the distance after just a few exchanges really is sublime. Joshua is just a couple of inches away from landing but the Ukrainian has measured him superbly so far.
A nice left hand clips the head of Usyk but it doesn’t phase him one but. Joshua then lands a decent one-two combination to the body of the challenger - better from the Brit.
Usyk trying to work the body a bit. The size is noticeable but so far it hasn’t been the key factor in this fight. Another left hand is blocked partly by the hand of Joshua but it does slip through onto the face.
Joshua unleashes a big right hand inside the final 20 seconds but Usyk evades it. The head movement is causing Joshua all sorts of trouble in the early stages.
Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk: Round 1
Ding, ding, ding. We’re underway and it’s Usyk who lands the first blow of the fight with a very sharp left hand through the guard of Joshua. It instantly catches the attention of the champion as Usyk attempts to take centre ring. Very interesting.
Quite a cagey opening as we expected. Joshua tries a couple of right hands down the pipe but they don’t land clean and then Usyk comes back with a lovely left!
The southpaw enters the final minute of the first round having landed the best two shots of the fight so far. He is alive. Electricity running through the veins of the Ukrainian.
Joshua swings and misses with a couple of wild swings. First blow goes to the challenger.
Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk
I will be providing round-by-round updates of this one. I shall not be scoring but you should get a pretty decent idea of who has won each round.
We are about to get going. All the pre-fight build-up is done.
Here. We. Go.
Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk
‘LET’S GET READY TO RUMBBBBBLLLEEEEEEEEE’. There is no five words more famous in sport than those from Buffer.
Apologies if my spelling frays a little, I may or may not be shaking with a bit of excitement.
Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk
Both men are now in the ring. Michael Buffer will now announce them one more time before they get down to business.
We really are just minutes away now before the first bell sounds.
Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk
The legendary Michael Buffer is in the building for the announcements. You know it’s a big night when Buffer is in town.
‘A’ and ‘J’ are set alight in huge letters as Joshua stands in between them and gets the crowd going. More fireworks ensue.
This isn’t just a fight, it’s also one giant show.
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