Usyk was too fast and too good for Joshua
Joshua had rebuffed assertions in the build-up that defeat would beckon retirement and there was no great shame in suffering another loss
Nigerian-born Anthony Joshua’s oasis of redemption ran dry in the desert on Saturday in Saudi Arabia as the Briton lost a split decision but produced a courageous performance in his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua’s best chance of revenge had always been ascribed to a punch from the heavens but, while such a lightning bolt was not forthcoming under a closed roof here in Jeddah, the 32-year-old was a vastly improved force under new trainer Robert Garcia and could glean great pride from pushing Usyk to the final bell.
Instead, Joshua was overcome by emotion and regret after falling agonisingly short and, having picked up two of his old belts in anticipation, he then threw them to the canvas in disgust and marched towards the exit after the verdict was announced.
It was an undignified end but, perhaps, an understandable response after 11 months of soul-searching ended in such bitter frustration.
Joshua stopped short of the door and grabbed the microphone upon returning to the ring, but an impassioned rant was scrambled by adrenaline and somewhat cringeworthy.
“If you knew my story you would understand the passion,” Joshua said. “I ain’t no amateur boxer from five years old that was an elite prospect from youth. I was going to jail, I got bail and I started training my arse off, I wanted to be able to fight.
“I’m stealing this [microphone] Usyk, I’m sorry, but it’s because of the passion we put into this. This guy to beat me tonight, maybe I could have done better, but it shows the level of hard work I put in.”
Usyk had vowed beforehand to deliver a jolt of joy to a nation engulfed by grief and, while he made good on that prediction with a typically precise assault, this was an entirely different contest to the comprehensive result that led Joshua to overhaul his training team.
Joshua had rebuffed assertions in the build-up that defeat would beckon retirement and there was no great shame in suffering another loss against an opponent as outrageously talented and extraordinarily inspired as Usyk.
This was always an altogether more seismic task than when Joshua avenged his first defeat against a diminished and distended Andy Ruiz here in Saudi Arabia in 2019. On that occasion, Joshua could rely on a stiffer jab to stifle a lethargic threat but to negate Usyk’s speed and guile required an absolute reinvention.
Joshua admitted the burden of pressure weighed heavily on him, but those stakes still dwindled in comparison to the backdrop of war that brought Usyk to Jeddah and the Ukrainian’s calm exterior masked the fierce determination imbued by the patriotic anthem to which he made his ring walk.
The 35-year-old attempted to immediately resume the urgent tempo that confounded Joshua in the first fight but the Briton was prepared for that pace and kept his composure during a tentative opening period. The jab he had neglected so desperately in Tottenham was more effective this time too and the tweaks to Joshua’s style and demeanour were immediately evident.
The fight took on a cagey theme, with Usyk’s work rate and accuracy superior while Joshua targeted the Ukrainian’s midriff in an effort to sap his agility. Joshua’s harder shots drew the loudest cheers, with the crowd leaning in his favour, and those roars were ignited again in the third when the Briton landed a right hook that ensured him a foothold in the fight.
That already represented an improvement but Usyk retaliated in the fourth, landing lead left hands that caused the sweat to spray off Joshua’s forehead as his guard was pierced more regularly. The pair exchanged crazed smiles after a wild exchange on the ropes and Joshua enjoyed success in the fifth and sixth.
The inevitable reality though was that Joshua’s stamina, weighing 10kg more than Usyk, was always going to fade. The fight began to slip away from him until the ninth round when Joshua finally landed clean and conjured a thrilling assault, ripping unanswered punches with abandon as he sensed victory.
It was the first time Usyk had been rocked and forced to recede in the past 21 rounds the pair had shared but Joshua had exhausted his energy reserves and was left almost a sitting duck in the tenth.
It was Usyk’s turn to unleash in the most decisive passage of the fight and, as he continuously caught Joshua clean with a dizzying array of punches, it felt as though the knockout beckoned.
Joshua surrendered the final two rounds, which proved crucial to the result, and where he goes from here is now the looming question. A third professional defeat has relegated him definitively from this era’s elite bracket of heavyweights, even if Joshua has played such a pivotal role in paving the way for a decade of British boxing success.
His confused monologue betrayed how big the task will be to rebuild and the exposure of his shortcomings might mean a comeback leads to a familiar tale of woe. He is adamant this is not the end, but the truth will be revealed in the coming weeks when Joshua’s wounds have healed but the pain of disappointment will remain raw.
