The 35-year-old Ukrainian proved to be unbeatable throughout the 12-round contest, keeping his nerve of steel to dominate Joshua with a series of heavy punches. Joshua appeared to break Usyk’s momentum in the ninth round and landed a punch on his opponent, before retiring in defeat.
He was awarded a score of 115-113 from one judge, but Usyk ultimately emerged as the stronger contender, earning scores of 115-113 and 116-112 from two judges to retain his heavyweight titles from the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO. .
Meanwhile, Ramla Ali won her contest against Crystal Garcia Nova of the Dominican Republic in Saudi Arabia’s first women’s boxing match.
The 32-year-old Alí won by knockout in the first round, improving his career record to 7-0.
Emotions are high
The heavyweight title rematch was billed as the “Rage on the Red Sea,” a headline that certainly captured the mood of the night.
After suffering his second consecutive defeat against Usyk, the 32-year-old Brit grabbed two of the Ukrainian’s belts, threw them out of the ring and charged towards his dressing room, before returning and grabbing the microphone to deliver an impassioned speech.
“If you knew my story, you’d understand the passion,” Joshua said, adding of Usyk: “I’m telling you, this guy beats me tonight, maybe he could have done better, but it shows the levels of hard work he’s put in . must have been involved, so please applaud him as our heavyweight champion of the world.”
Usyk claimed victory against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a conflict in which he is personally invested.
Earlier this year, the 35-year-old traveled back to his homeland and joined the Kyiv Territorial Defense Battalion to aid in the war effort.
In March, Usyk was cleared to return to training and prepare for his fight against Joshua, although he expressed reluctance at the time. “I dedicate this victory to my country, to my family, to my team, to all the people, to the military who defend the country,” Usyk said through a translator after the fight. “Thank you very much.
“This is already history,” he added. “Many generations will watch this fight, especially the round where someone tried to beat me hard. But I (hung in) and turned it around.”
Usyk also made clear his desire to challenge Tyson Fury, just a week after the WBC heavyweight champion said he is ready to “walk away” from boxing.
“I’m sure Tyson Fury is not retired yet. I’m sure, I’m convinced he wants to fight me. I want to fight him,” Usyk said. “If I’m not fighting Tyson Fury, I’m not fighting at all.”
“I was angry with myself”
Joshua broke down in tears during his post-match press conference, saying he was “overwhelmed” by his performance on Saturday.
“It’s very, very hard for me to say that I’m proud of myself,” he said. “I’m upset, really, deep down in my heart.”
He also explained his emotional outburst after the game, adding: “When you try to do things from your heart, not everyone will understand. It was just from the heart. I knew I was angry with myself. Not with anyone, just Me that I had to come out here because I’m crazy.
“When you’re angry, you can do stupid things, so I was mad. But then I realized this is sports, let me do the right thing.”
Before the rematch, fellow British boxers Carl Froch and Kell Brook said a second loss to Usyk would spell the end of Joshua’s boxing career.
Despite the rumours, the 32-year-old showed no signs of hanging up his gloves just yet.
“I am a fighter for life. Hunger never dies,” he said.
CNN’s Ben Morse contributed reporting to this story.