Usyk Defeats Joshua “Unanimous Decision”

By Tom Donelson (BWAA) Member Boxing Writers Association of America

Boxing just saw a big shock in the heavyweight division as Oleksandr Usyk upset Anthony Joshua by out boxing him on Saturday night at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.  Usyk, in his third heavyweight fight since moving up from being a cruiserweight champion, fought a brilliant boxing match in out-dueling Joshua.

Usyk landed two left hands that rocked Joshua’s head back and came forward but stayed mobile.  Joshua didn’t move as fluidly and spent the first round being cautious.

During the second and the third rounds, Usyk stayed out of Joshua’s reach and landed with his left. Joshua landed a couple of rights but got rocked by a big shot from Usyk, the smaller man.  Throughout the fourth round, Usyk appeared to dominate with his boxing skills but in the fifth round, Joshua nailed Usyk with a solid shot.

Through the first half, it was a technical fight which favored Uysk as he dictated the pace and both fighters kept their distance.  During the sixth round, fans roared when Joshua landed hard shots and it even appeared that Usyk was moving backwards as Joshua moved forward.  One of the Sky Sports pundits had the fight four rounds to two in favor of Usyk.

Joshua was a fighter who had the confidence of a champion entering the seventh round.  He snapped a body shot with his left but got countered with a shot from Usyk that stunned him, but he recovered quickly.  Usyk was back in charge at end of the seventh round.

The eighth and ninth rounds were more even as far as scoring compared to the opening rounds where Usyk easily outboxed Joshua.  In the ninth round Joshua landed a couple of good shots but so did Usyk.

A cut appeared on the right side of Usyk’s face in the tenth round and both fighters showed the wear of the fight.  Joshua’s right eye was swelling up and he appeared desperate while his corner tried to relax him and ensure him that the fight could still be won.

Usyk came out flying at the beginning of the eleventh round and over the final six minutes of the fight, he looked the more mobile fighter.  While both men suffered from fatigue, Usyk’s movement indicated that he was the fresher fighter.  Usyk kept moving forward and throwing punches while Joshua attempted one big right which missed.  Usyk rocked Joshua as the round wound down.  The question now was would he win a decision fighting in Joshua’s backyard?

Usyk won a unanimous decision, 117-111, 116-112, and 115-113, all reasonable scores. As one British sports writer observed, “It’s a shocking night for him and his fans but Joshua can have no complaints. He was outboxed and outclassed. He started slowly, and grew into the fight as it went on, but what a display by Usyk, who kept coming forward and mixing up his angles of attack. Joshua was slower – although clearly more powerful – and he did hurt Usyk at times. But the Ukrainian is now the new heavyweight champion. It’s the second defeat of Anthony Joshua’s career.”

Sky pundit Chris Eubank Jr: “I’m gobsmacked, flabbergasted… I didn’t see the fight going that way at all. It’s only his [Usyk’s] third heavyweight fight. It was a masterclass. One of the biggest statements in boxing for a very long time. Full credit to the guy.”  Everyone was stunned as was much of the boxing world.  No one thinks of Usyk as an official contender for the pound-for-pound champion when compared to Alvarez or Crawford who are often thought of as the best pound-for-pound. But now you have to put Usyk in the conversation. And this put the entire heavyweight division on its ear as the anticipated Fury-Joshua fight has been put on hold and Usyk has most of the heavyweight belts.  Fury still has to fight Wilder and I favor Fury in that fight due to his technical boxing skills.  Usyk was unknown before Saturday night but now he is king of the heavyweights.

One thought on “Usyk Defeats Joshua “Unanimous Decision”

  1. Usyk is clearly the 2nd greatest CW champion since the inception of the division. Him vs Fury is an intriguing match up.

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