Highlights! Usyk Outlasts Joshua To Retain Title

Oleksandr Usyk (20-0, 13 KO) defended his heavyweight crown for the first time earlier today (Sat., Aug. 20, 2022) live on DAZN from inside Jeddah Superdome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, when the Ukrainian fighter outlasted Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KO) via split decision to retain his WBA, WBO and IBF world titles.

Usyk relied on his patented footwork and head movement to get in and out of range in the early going. Joshua waited to counter back and started to change levels to land some solid shots to the body. This was all in effort to slow down the movement of Usyk and keep him in one location.

Joshua’s pressure put Usyk on his back foot more often than he’d like and the body shots started to force Usyk to lower his hands. This allowed Joshua to land one of his cleanest flurries of the fight in Round 6 that put Usyk along the ropes. Joshua kept the pressure up in the seventh as Usyk struggled to regain control.

Both heavyweights exchanged down the stretch as Joshua kept piling up the body shots while Usyk launched crisp shots upstairs. Joshua nearly pulled off a knockdown in the ninth frame, but Usyk stayed on his bicycle and somehow survived. Usyk battled back in the tenth to put Joshua on notice, but Joshua countered with a massive shot that stunned the champ.

In the end, it was Usyk who displayed enough consistency, durability, and resolve to hold onto his belt and win yet another massive bout over Joshua.

Check out the full fight video highlights below:

For complete ‘Usyk vs. Joshua 2’ results and coverage click here.