Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk 2 LIVE: Result and reaction as Usyk wins thrilling fight by split decision

Anthony Joshua lost a split decision to Oleksandr Usyk in Jeddah at midnight on Saturday. That is the simple truth, the raw facts and they only tell part of the story of the fight and the night.

It was a fight of tremendous intensity in each of the twelve rounds; it was draining, not brutal and at about 4am, Joshua was in tears as he tried to explain his journey. It meant that much to him, he lost that much and he came so close.

Usyk won the fight because he won the last three rounds and that is what champions do. Joshua had a brilliant, a staggering, ninth round, when he pushed Usyk back, hit the Ukrainian maestro with lefts and rights to body, head, shoulder and groin. It was the round Joshua needed, but he needed twelve of them and not just the one.

Steve Bunce reacts to a night to remember in Jeddah:

There have been many different Anthony Joshuas over the years. There has been Anthony Joshua the model, the businessman, the Olympian, the juggernaut, the impostor.

So, which was the version marauding around the ring in Jeddah on Saturday night, microphone in hand, beaten but bellowing of passion, respect, and war?

The sharp jawline was there, just a little more mobile than usual. The pragmatic mind must have been there, if somewhat rattled within his skull. The Team GB logo was present, inked onto the Briton’s bruised skin, underneath the sticky sweat. As it was, every Joshua was accounted for on this Saudi summer night. All plus this possessed, perturbed version.

Alex Pattle’s full fight night report:

Anthony Joshua was “left out to dry by his team”, who should have stopped him during his post-fight outburst following defeat to Oleksandr Usyk, says Frazer Clarke.

After an enthralling heavyweight world title fight rematch that Usyk won by split decision, an emotional Joshua firstly stormed out of the ring before returning, chucking away a couple of the belts and then taking the microphone to give an odd speech to the crowd.

The bizarre scenes slightly overshadowed Usyk’s moment, although the Brit was speaking from the heart and was largely complimentary of the Ukrainian.

Tyson Fury has labelled Oleksandr Usyk’s second win against Anthony Joshua as one of the ‘worst heavyweight title fights’ he has ever seen, declaring that he would beat both fighters in one night.

Usyk earned a split-decision win against Joshua in Saudi Arabia, retaining the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts against the Briton, whom the Ukrainian dethroned last September with a unanimous-decision victory.

Fury has claimed to be retired but has not yet relinquished the WBC heavyweight title, and the Briton hinted that he could return for a clash with Usyk to crown an undisputed heavyweight champion.

“After watching that, the both of them were s****,” said Fury, 33, in a video on Instagram. “It was one of the worst heavyweight title fights I’ve ever seen.”

Anthony Joshua has received criticism for his post-fight speech following his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in Saturday night’s heavyweight world title fight.

Joshua was accused of “stealing Usyk’s moment” by former world champion Carl Froch after taking the microphone and giving a bizarre outburst to the crowd following his split decision loss in their world heavyweight title rematch.

Having gone down 115-113, 116-112, 113-115 on the scorecards after an improved performance in the rematch of their one-sided initial contest, Joshua stormed out of the ring before returning, chucking away a couple of the belts and then taking the microphone.

Piers Morgan is being called out for hypocrisy over comments he made about boxer Anthony Joshua.

On Saturday (20 August), Joshua was defeated by Oleksandr Usyk in their world heavyweight title rematch in Saudi Arabia. After, he stormed out of the ring before returning to deliver a “bizarre” speech.

The world of sport and entertainment have been commenting on Joshua’s post-match behaviour.

Morgan wrote on Twitter after the match had ended: “Embarrassing antics at the end by Joshua. He was beaten by a superior fighter who put on a magnificent performance of highly-skilled, supremely resilient boxing.”

However, many are pointing out that Morgan did something similar in March 2021.

Anthony Joshua broke down in tears before explaining that his erratic behaviour in the immediate aftermath of his thrilling defeat to Oleksandr Usyk was a consequence of the anger he felt towards himself.

Upon conceding a split decision in the fight in Jeddah, a furious Joshua stalked towards the changing room before returning to the ring, grabbing Usyk’s WBA and Ring Magazine belts and dropping them outside the ropes.

He then confronted Usyk, saying “you’re not strong, how did you beat me? How? I had character and determination”, before addressing the crowd with a confused rant about his past and his own shortcomings as a boxer.

Anthony Joshua seized a microphone to vent his frustrations after his rematch defeat before congratulating Oleksandr Usyk.

The British heavyweight said: “I could have done better, but it showed the hard work he must have put in to beat me.”

“I’m not a 12-round fighter. I am a new breed of heavyweight, Mike Tyson, Sonny Liston - they say ‘he doesn’t throw combinations like Rocky Marciano,’ because I’m not 14 stone. I am 18 stone, I am heavy,” AJ added.

Oleksandr Usyk hailed his heavyweight world title victory as “extremely important” win for his home country, Ukraine.

Anthony Joshua was defeated on split-decision at Jeddah’s King Abdullah Sports City Arena with scores of 113-115, 115-113,116-112.

Usyk’s WBA, IBF and WBO titles now set up the prospect of a unification clash with Tyson Fury.

“It was extremely important for my country, for my team, and personally for me. I boxed for the whole country,” Usyk said.

Anthony Joshua lost a split decision to Oleksandr Usyk in Jeddah at midnight on Saturday. That is the simple truth, the raw facts and they only tell part of the story of the fight and the night.

It was a fight of tremendous intensity in each of the twelve rounds; it was draining, not brutal and at about 4am, Joshua was in tears as he tried to explain his journey. It meant that much to him, he lost that much and he came so close.

Usyk won the fight because he won the last three rounds and that is what champions do. Joshua had a brilliant, a staggering, ninth round, when he pushed Usyk back, hit the Ukrainian maestro with lefts and rights to body, head, shoulder and groin. It was the round Joshua needed, but he needed twelve of them and not just the one.

By Steve Bunce in Jeddah