Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua II

Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua II, billed as Rage on the Red Sea, was a heavyweight professional boxing match between WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion, Oleksandr Usyk, and former heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua. The bout took place on 20 August 2022 at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.[1] Usyk won the 12-round bout by split decision, with scores of 116–112 and 115–113 in his favour, and 115–113 in favour of Joshua.[2]

Rage on the Red Sea
Date20 August 2022
VenueKing Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Title(s) on the lineWBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, and vacant The Ring heavyweight titles
Tale of the tape
Boxer Oleksandr Usyk Anthony Joshua
Nickname The Cat AJ
Hometown Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine Watford, Hertfordshire, England
Pre-fight record 19–0 (13 KO) 24–2 (22 KO)
Age 35 32
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) 6 ft 6 in (198 cm)
Weight 221+1⁄2 lb (100 kg) 244+1⁄2 lb (111 kg)
Style Southpaw Orthodox
Recognition WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion
The Ring No. 2 ranked pound-for-pound fighter
2-division world champion		 Former two-time heavyweight champion
Result
Usyk wins via 12–round split decision (113–115, 115–113, 116–112)

Background

On 25 September 2021 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, Anthony Joshua first faced Oleksandr Usyk, his WBO mandatory challenger, in a defence of his unified world heavyweight titles. Despite entering the bout as the reigning champion and the pre-fight betting favourite,[3] Joshua was outboxed over the twelve-round distance as he suffered the second defeat of his professional career, losing via unanimous decision with judges' scorecards of 117–112, 116–112 and 115–113 all in Usyk's favour. The result meant that Usyk became only the second boxer ever, after Evander Holyfield, to win unified world titles in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions.[4]

Four days after the fight, on 29 September, it was announced by Usyk's promoter Alexander Krassyuk that a one-sided rematch clause which had been specified in the fight contract had "already been activated in principle, from the side of Joshua." Krassyuk noted that Usyk relished the prospect of squaring off against Joshua twice: "So I remember when we discussed with Oleksandr the issue of rematch, he was delighted and said 'Wow, cool, I will beat Anthony [sic] twice.'" Regarding the venue of the rematch, Usyk made it known that he hoped it would take place in his native country of Ukraine, saying, "I would love to have the rematch at Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv." However, Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn, stated that Ukraine was a "very unlikely" venue, as he wanted to maximise income: "I think it will be international or the UK, I would think it would be in the UK."[5]

With the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, a potential Usyk–Joshua rematch was thrown into doubt. In the days following the start of the invasion, Usyk posted on his social media channels to confirm that he had returned to Ukraine, and to plead with Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the invasion, with one video captioned "No War".[6] On 2 March, Usyk confirmed in a video interview with American news network CNN that he had taken up arms and joined a territorial defence battalion in Ukraine. Regarding his professional boxing career, Usyk said, "I really don't know when I'm going to be stepping back in the ring. My country and my honour are more important to me than a championship belt."[7] In late March, it was reported that Usyk would be leaving Ukraine to begin preparations for the rematch with Joshua.[8][9] Usyk revealed his decision to leave his homeland and refocus his efforts on boxing was supported by Mayor of Kyiv and former heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, as well as his younger brother Wladimir Klitschko, also a former heavyweight champion who had been defeated by Anthony Joshua in 2017.[10]

On 19 June 2022, it was officially announced that Usyk would be facing Joshua in a rematch in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 20 August.[11] The country put up a purse of roughly $77 million for the fighters to split through its sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund.[12] The fight would mark the first defence of Usyk's world heavyweight titles, while it would be Joshua's twelfth consecutive world heavyweight title fight as he attempted to become a three-time world heavyweight champion.[11] Following Tyson Fury's decision to vacate The Ring magazine heavyweight title on 13 August, it was announced that the now-vacant title would also be on the line, in addition to Usyk's world titles.[13]

Fight results

Despite Joshua's improved performance compared to his first loss to Usyk,[14][15] the latter successfully defended his belts.

According to New York Times statistics, Joshua landed 37 body punches compared to 15 in their first fight.[12] Overall, however, Usyk outperformed Joshua, landing 170 of 712 punches, compared with 124 of 492 for Joshua.[12][16] Usyk also established new records for punches landed by an Anthony Joshua opponent (170) and most punches landed on Joshua in a single round (39 punches in the 10th round).[16]

Scoring card by judges
  1. Glenn Feldman (white): 115–113 for Joshua[14]
  2. Viktor Fesechko (blue): 116–112 for Usyk[14]
  3. Steve Gray (red): 115–113 for Usyk[14]

The split decision was controversial and surprised the majority of viewers, who had expected a unanimous verdict for Usyk.[17][18] The Ring magazine called Glenn Feldman's scorecard "horrible".[15] Among those criticizing his judging were promoter Lou DiBella and boxing trainer Teddy Atlas.[17]

The fight was well received. The Ring called it "excellent",[15] The Sporting News called it "thrilling",[19] Sky Sports called it "spectacular".[20]

Aftermath

Immediately after the fight, Joshua threw the title belts out of the ring and started to walk out of the arena, but came back and once in control of the microphone gave an emotional speech, talking about his life, fighting, Ukraine, and praising Usyk. After Joshua was done, Usyk said he wanted to fight Tyson Fury or, otherwise, he might not box again.[15][21] He also dedicated his win to his country "Ukraine, Armed Forces of Ukraine" and everyone who was defending his country.[22][12]

In the post-fight press conference, Joshua broke down in tears.[21][23]

In early September 2022, details of the potential undisputed title fight with Fury started to surface. Usyk stated that Fury was not retired and was interested in the match.[20] Fury's co-promoter, Bob Arum, stated that December 17, 2022, was discussed as the potential date of the fight. However, Usyk countered that the fight was unlikely to be held in 2022 due to his "old traumas which have resurfaced".[24][25]

Fight card
Weight Class vs Method Round Time Notes
Heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk (c) def Anthony Joshua SD 12/12 Note 1
Heavyweight Filip Hrgović def Zhang Zhilei UD 12/12 Note 2
Light-heavyweight Callum Smith def Mathieu Bauderlique TKO 4/12 Note 3
Cruiserweight Badou Jack def Richard Rivera SD 10/10
Heavyweight Andrew Tabiti def James Wilson RTD 5/8
Super-bantamweight Ramla Ali def Crystal Garcia Nova TKO 1/8
Light-heavyweight Daniel Lapin def Jozef Jurko UD 8/8
Super-middleweight Benjamin Whittaker def Petar Nosić UD 6/6
Lightweight Bader Samreen def Fuad Tarverdi TKO 4 (4) 1:16
Light-welterweight Ziyad Almaayouf def Jose Alatorre TKO 1 (4) 2:55
Welterweight Traycho Georgiev def Money Kicks SD 4/4 Note 4

^Note 1 For WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, and vacant The Ring heavyweight titles
^Note 2 Final eliminator for IBF heavyweight title
^Note 3 Final eliminator for WBC light heavyweight title
^Note 4 Money Kicks' professional debut

Broadcasting
Country Broadcaster
Free-to-air Cable/Pay TV Stream PPV
Ukraine Suspilne
2+2[26]		 MEGOGO YouTube [27] —
United Kingdom Sky Sports Boxing YouTube (undercard) Sky Sports Action
Sky Sports Arena (undercard)		 — Sky Sports Box Office [28]
Worldwide — DAZN —

References
  1. "Joshua v Usyk rematch announced for August". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  2. Nakrani, Sachin (21 August 2022). "Oleksandr Usyk beats Anthony Joshua by split decision to retain world titles". The Guardian.
  3. Katzowitz, Josh. "Anthony Joshua Vs. Oleksandr Usyk Odds, Records, Prediction (Updated With Betting Results)". Forbes. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  4. "Anthony Joshua loses to Oleksandr Usyk who puts in magnificent performance to become champion". talkSPORT. 26 September 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  5. The Athletic Staff. "Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk rematch: Usyk wants it held in Ukraine". The Athletic. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  6. "Oleksandr Usyk returns to Ukraine amid Russia invasion and posts 'No War' message". talkSPORT. 26 February 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  7. Exclusive: By Don Riddell (2 March 2022). "'My soul belongs to the Lord and my body and my honor to my country,' says heavyweight champion after joining Ukrainian defense battalion". CNN. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  8. "Oleksandr Usyk leaving Ukraine to train for Anthony Joshua rematch". The Independent. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  9. "Usyk leaves Ukraine, preparing for rematch with Joshua". AP News. 29 March 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  10. "Oleksandr Usyk gives first interview since leaving Ukraine to train for Anthony Joshua". talkSPORT. 6 April 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  11. "Confirmed: Usyk vs AJ 2 is on, date and location announced". talkSPORT. 19 June 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  12. Campbell, Morgan (21 August 2022). "Usyk's Heavyweight Win Sets Up Fury Showdown or More Boxing Messiness". New York Times.
  13. Gray, Tom (13 August 2022). "Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua will vie for Ring heavyweight championship". The Ring. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  14. "Usyk vs AJ: Official scorecard shows Anthony Joshua was winning fight against Oleksandr Usyk after nine rounds". Sky Sports. 23 August 2022.
  15. Dixon, Tris (20 August 2022). "Oleksandr Usyk Defeats Anthony Joshua Again Following Excellent Fight". The Ring.
  16. "Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua Rematch: CompuBox Punch Stats". Boxing Scene. 21 August 2022.
  17. Temple, Cameron (23 August 2022). "Judge Glenn Feldman confronted for controversial scorecard where he had Anthony Joshua ahead of Oleksandr Usyk in heavyweight rematch". talkSPORT.
  18. Foster, Elliot (23 August 2022). "Official Usyk-Joshua Scorecards Reveal Just How Shocking The Scoring Was". Boxing Social.
  19. Farrell, Dom (20 August 2022). "Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua 2 results: Usyk dominates championship rounds to retain heavyweight titles". Sporting News.
  20. "Oleksandr Usyk: Tyson Fury wants to fight me in undisputed heavyweight clash". Sky Sports. 2 September 2022.
  21. Hammer, Chris (21 August 2022). "Watch Anthony Joshua throw belts out of ring and praise Oleksandr Usyk in bizarre post-fight speech in Saudi Arabia". Sporting Life.
  22. "Після перемоги над британцем Ентоні Джошуа українець Олександр Усик заявив, що присвячує свій тріумф ЗСУ та всій Україні". Еспресо (in Ukrainian). 21 August 2022. Я присвячую цей бій моїй Державі — Україні, Збройним Силам Україні та усім, хто зараз боронить мою країну
  23. Nakrani, Sachin (21 August 2022). "Anthony Joshua's tears and tirade show the burden of boxing's spotlight". The Guardian.
  24. Foster, Elliot (3 September 2022). "Tyson Fury Poses With The Man Who Beat Usyk: "Imagine What I'm Going To Do!"". Boxing Social.
  25. "Oleksandr Usyk defends Anthony Joshua over controversial postfight reaction". ESPN. 3 September 2022.
  26. "Бій-реванш Олександра Усика та Ентоні Джошуа: вся інформація про поєдинок та де його дивитися". 2+2 (in Ukrainian). 17 August 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  27. "Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua 2: Ukrainian will stream fight for free on YouTube". GiveMeSport. 4 August 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  28. "Sky Sports Box Office Wins Bid to Show Oleksandr Usyk-Anthony Joshua Rematch". The Ring. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
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