Oleksandr Usyk’s spectacular presentation of technicality led him to win on unanimous points against Anthony Joshua this Saturday.
The title bout at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium saw Usyk create history by being the third boxer after Evander Holyfield and David Haye to have unified the cruiserweight world titles and become the heavyweight champion.
He also became the second to unify both cruiserweight and heavyweight titles after Evander Holyfield.
Despite a physical advantage Joshua was seen struggling against Usyk from the beginning.
Joshua’s power seemed to be of no worth in front of Usyk’s technicality as the latter was seen landing key punches at the beginning of the fight.
This led to Joshua suffering from swelling under his right eye very early in the match, which would later on go on to become more and more serious and impact his performance as well.
Though Joshua did pick up at the halfway mark, it was evident by the way Usyk played that only a stoppage could save Joshua from losing. Eventually, the fight was awarded to the challenger (Usyk) by unanimous decision (117-112, 116-112, 115-113).
Following the fight, Joshua was taken to the hospital for his eye treatment. There he released a defying statement giving hope about his fight against Tyson Fury.
"The 31-year-old said: “I’ll fight Tyson Fury, Wilder, whatnot, without the belts.”
“That’s the main thing - that you’ve got two competitors in the ring from UK soil that just wants to go toe-to-toe.”
He had ranked Usyk to be his second toughest opponent in the ring before the bout on Saturday. Stating that his toughest opponent was Wladimir Klitschko.
“They’re very different technically. But Usyk is number two because of his success at cruiserweight and then his success so far at heavyweight,” said Joshua.
Joshua’s personal opinion aside, the records showed otherwise. The Ukrainian had put up a staggering 350 amateur fights before stepping into the pro league, while Joshua only had 35. This difference was visible in Saturday's match.
Saturday's victory for Usyk changed the dimensions of the heavyweight division. The most impact it has created is in causing huge doubts about whether his fight with Tyson Fury will go ahead or not.
“‘The Road to Undisputed’ is a nice title to have and a nice title to chase, but would you still watch it without the belts? Exactly.”
This question can only be answered with time.