Anthony Joshua had been hoping to fight Tyson Fury – who will defend his WBC belt against Deontay Wilder next month – to decide the undisputed champion. But on Saturday night he had to defend his WBA, IBF and WBO titles against unbeaten Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk.Anthony Joshua lost his world heavyweight titles to Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk, after being outboxed over 10 rounds.Usyk, fighting out of a southpaw stance, bamboozled the champion and almost stopped him in the last round.Joshua’s three titles were on the line in front of 67,000 fans at Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium in north London – the first time since the pandemic started that a boxing arena in the UK had been allowed to have a full house.
Oleksandr Usyk got off to a good start in rounds one and two, finding a home for his left hand on a number of occasions. The Ukrainian standout continued to build on that momentum in round three landing a nasty overhand left that staggered the champion. Anthony Joshua was able to respond well in round four, landing a big straight right that busted up the eye of Usyk. That trend continued in round five, as the British fighter was able to connect with multiple combinations.
Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua would continue to trade big shots straight through to the championship rounds. In the final round the Ukrainian fighter poured on the pressure and nearly knocked down the British standout.
