In a unanimous decision by the judges, boxer Oleksandr Usyk was declared the winner of his highly-anticipated bout against Anthony Joshua on Saturday, ending the Briton’s second reign as world heavyweight champion.

Joshua had no answer to Usyk’s superior reflexes and punching power, especially off his left, and the Ukrainian will go back home tonight with the WBA and IBF titles in just his third fight since stepping up from the cruiserweight division.

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He is the third man, after Evander Holyfield and David Haye, to win world titles at cruiserweight then heavyweight. Six years after Wladimir Klitschko’s long heavyweight reign ended, Ukraine has another champion in boxing’s marquee division.

While Joshua enjoyed an initial charge, Usyk grew into the match and caught out the 32-year-old on multiple occasions in the final moments. In the final round, Joshua ducked and dived to stay alive in the match, but Usyk, who is such an awkward customer, kept pouncing on him and throwing shots. Joshua, hoping for a miracle, sent a heaving right hand towards Usyk but the Briton missed. The two trade blows before the bell and Joshua narrowly dodged a knockout. 

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The champion looked helpless in the last seconds as he leant against the ropes and simply smiled. The judges scored the fight 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113, and Joshua appeared to accept the result as he walked over to Usyk’s corner.

However, Joshua will have one more shot to regain his belts as he has a rematch clause in the deal.

Usyk stepped up to heavyweight in 2019 after unifying all the cruiserweight belts, and now has 19 straight wins as a professional.

His energy levels were remarkable as he piled the punches on Joshua in a dominant overall performance. 

As the final bell rang, Usyk dropped to his knees and looked to the London sky as more than 62,000 spectators inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium appeared to gasp.

Following the announcement, Usyk then entertained the crowd with an acrobatic dance inside the ring.

Meanwhile, Joshua has now tasted his second loss in a 25-fight pro career, after a defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr. in New York that he immediately avenged in Saudi Arabia.

With inputs from the Associated Press