HIGHLIGHTS: How Usyk, Joshua traded punches in 12 rounds

Oleksandr Usyk, the unified heavyweight champion, again defeated Anthony Joshua to retain his WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO titles at the expense of the British-Nigerian boxer.

Unbeaten in his 19 fights before the night, the Ukrainian proved too much for ‘AJ’ with a 2-1 split decision victory.

While the rematch was a massive improvement — when compared to the first in which Joshua was battered — TheCable Sport reviews how the fight went down for the 12 rounds.

ROUND 1: Both boxers tested their jabs — which proved to be their ultimate weapons — early on, with Usyk connecting with two of such. Joshua, with fewer movements, compared to his opponent, connected more with body shots while also landing a big punch to the side of Usyk’s head. The first round goes to the challenger.

ROUND 2: More elusive movement from Usyk while looking for the jab after Joshua extends his hand looking to connect to the head but manages a big body shot and hooks through the middle. The champion connected with a few jabs of his but Joshua, again, did enough to take the round.

ROUND 3: Usyk begins to find rhythm and unpredictability, as he landed a big hook beyond Joshua’s defence. More jabs also connected in a round Joshua was only able to land a right hook as his opponent took the round.

ROUND 4: ‘The cat’ Usyk is out of the bag as he has fully adjusted to Joshua’s movement and ducks, producing counterpunches at will via jabs and hooks. Again, Joshua could only respond late in the round but Usyk had wrapped up the points. Trouble.

ROUND 5: An aggressive round from both fighters with little result. Joshua worked more on Usyk’s body, one below the belt, leading to the referee stopping the fight for a few seconds. Undaunted, Usyk continued his counterpunching tactic with successful hooks, doing enough to take another round.

ROUND 6: Both landed two jabs apiece before a Joshua hook pinned Usyk in a corner but he lacked the sucker punch despite a flurry of shots that rocked his opponent. A right hook again went through Joshua’s block but he comfortably claimed the round despite a swollen brow.

ROUND 7: More of the same from Usyk who was in control at this point. The 35-year-old went on a jabbing spree by slipping away from Joshua’s jab before landing consecutive jabs. AJ is in search of the big shot but Usyk takes the consecutive rounds.

ROUND 8: Despite a slippery ring centre, Joshua connected with a three-punch combination and continued to work Usyk’s body. Further body shots and jabs from both sides before the bell but Joshua did enough to take the round.

ROUND 9: A dominant round from Joshua who totally bullied Usyk. A big headshot, a couple of body shots, an uppercut, and a flurry of jabs rocked Usyk who held on for the bell. The most convincing round of the bout moved Joshua closer to Usyk on points.

ROUND 10: A complete turnaround as it was Usyk’s turn to punish AJ who could not get out of the way of several Usyk jabs and hooks. Punishing ‘soft’ punches to the head saw AJ wobble through most of a round Usyk took rather convincingly.

ROUND 11: While Joshua searched for the killer punch, he was exposed to Usyk’s simple counterpunching boxing tactic of jabbing his way through his opponent’s jab, also connecting with more hooks to Joshua’s head in a round that seemingly confirmed his impending victory.

ROUND 12: Two tired boxers as Joshua continued to search for the elusive punch while Usyk kept it simple with jabs and also landed a three-punch combination. The Ukrainian fell to his feet at the end of the round, he was crowned the defending heavyweight boxing champion.

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Photo credit: DAZNboxing