BREAKING: Oleksandr Usyk beats Anthony Joshua by split decision in Saudi rematch

Oleksandr Usyk retains his WBO, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles and it was a lot closer than we imagined, according to the judges…

Joshua showed that he had made some real adjustments since their September 2021 clash, fighting in a lower stance and not falling into Usyk’s traps in the opening rounds. That made it difficult for Usyk to truly get rolling early as he maintained his constant lateral movement, but without the same offensive openings presenting themselves as they had in the first meeting.

Usyk began to switch up his gameplan beginning in Round 4 as he began to figure out the approach Joshua was taking.

Rather than allow Joshua to lead the fight and apply pressure, Usyk began to circle more and fire off combinations with the intention to touch Joshua more than hurt him with any one shot.

In response to Usyk’s adjustment, Joshua began to fall into the same traps as the first meeting, chasing Usyk and missing wildly at times.

Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder react to AJ’s defeat

Tyson Fury said: “That was s****. That was one of the worst heavyweight world title fights I’ve ever seen. They’re both s****. I would annihilate both of them on the same night. Get your chequebook out because I the Gypsy King is here to stay forever!”

Deontay Wilder posted on Twitter: “They tried to lock me in for insurance because they knew he wasn’t going to Win. This is strictly a business, Not a sport there’s a difference.”