By Isaac Modi.
British professional boxer Anthony Oluwafemi Joshua on Saturday night suffered only the second loss of his career at the Tottenham hotspur stadium in London, having previously lost only to Andy Ruiz Jr. in 2019.
The two-time former unified world heavyweight champion only managed to win the fifth round and was for the most part of the night outclassed by Ukrainian pro Oleksandr Usyk who got to the front from the word go. He initially touched Joshua with his fast left hand in the opening round and any idea that he would box cautiously evaporated within seconds when his intention to take the center of the ring became succinctly clear.
The Ukrainian`s super-fast movement seemed too much for the Briton to cope with and he only seemed to gain confidence with every new round and even Joshua`s significant punches in the fifth and eighth rounds did little to undo the ground he`d gained.
In the final rounds Usyk threw more punches albeit with some initial resistance from Joshua who eventually turned to resting on the ropes and it`s the final bell that helped relieve him from an intense onslaught from Usyk.
Joshua can trigger his contractual right to an immediate rematch but the first bout has indicated that there`s little chance that the outcome of a second will be any different.
