Oleksandr Usyk Stuns, Anthony Joshua, Claims Three Heavyweight Titles

Underdog, Oleksandr Usyk stunned Anthony Joshua, downing the heavyweight champion on Saturday.

Usyk became the new WBA, IBF and WBO champion with a decision win. He is the third Ukrainian fighter to capture the heavyweight titles.

The fight aired live from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. Osyk swept the scorecards 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113. 

Usyk, a 34-year-old, improved to 19-0 with the win, landing 25 more punches than Joshua and connecting at a much-high rate. The loss was the second in 26 fights for the now-former champion.

The loss also ended any chance of an upcoming meeting with Tyson Fury to unify all four heavyweight titles. Fury, of course, defends his WBC belt on October 9 against Deontay Wilder. 

“A devastating defeat,” Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn said (thanks to ESPN for the quotes). “Usyk is very fit, he’s got great feet, he threw a lot of punches. It was a tough defeat. (Joshua) got beat by the better man on the night.”

Usyk became the third fighter to win world titles in both the heavyweight and cruiserweight divisions. He joins David Haye and Evander Holyfield. 

“The fight went exactly the way I expected it to go,” Usyk said.

“There was times when Anthony pushed me hard but nothing special. I had no objective to knock him out. My corner pushed me not to do that. You didn’t see the best Usyk. I can be much better.”