Oleksandr Usyk Outclasses Anthony Joshua in Jeddah

The eyes of the boxing world were focused on the coastal city of Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia today where Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua squared off in the sequel to their match last September in London. When the smoke cleared, Usyk retained his belts on a split decision that probably should have been unanimous. The judges had it 116-112, 115-113, and 113-115.

Usyk was the smaller man and at age 35 the older man by three years. But he was also the better boxer who fell into a rhythm early, by and large controlled the distance, and wouldn’t allow himself to get pinned against the ropes.

Usyk was clearly ahead through seven rounds. Joshua had a strong eighth and a very strong ninth in which he had Usyk on the retreat, but the Ukranian regained the momentum in the 10^th and finished strong. There were no knockdowns, but Joshua’s right eye began to swell shortly after the midpoint of the fight.

Oleksandr Usyk, a consensus 11/5 favorite, improved to 20-0 while successfully defending his IBF, WBA, and WBO world heavyweight titles. Joshua, once looked upon as a future all-time great, lost for the third time in 27 starts.

Co-Feature

In a wild and wooly affair that was everything the main event was not, Croatia’s Filip Hrgovic (15-0) recovered from a first-round knockdown to out-point Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang. (24-1-1). Although all three judges favored Hrgovic (114-113, 115-112 twice), the decision was controversial. Zhang’s corner was livid when the scores were announced.

Both fighters took a lot of punishment in the seesaw fight that saw both fighters looking gassed at various intervals before digging deep to fire off bombs. The action was sloppy at times which was partly the result of a slippery canvas.

Both men were bloodied in round two by a clash of heads that was deemed accidental although seemingly initiated by Zhang. Hrgovic got the worst of that collision. But there were no further knockdowns after the opening frame during which the 39-year-old Zhang, a big underdog, floored Hrgovic with a looping left hook.

Other Bouts of Note

Pound-for-pound, Liverpool’s Callum Smith is one of the hardest punchers in boxing (although one wouldn’t have gleaned that from his showing in a previous bout with Canelo Alvarez). Smith delivered another highlight-reel knockout today, starching French southpaw Matthieu Bauderlique in the fourth round of their entertaining slugfest. The official time was 1:53.

With Buddy McGirt in his corner, Smith (29-1, 20 KOs) decked Bauderlique with a left hook in the fourth round and then, after Bauderlique made it to his feet, measured him and put him down again with another left hook of such ferocity that the referee didn’t bother to count. Bauderlique, a former Olympic bronze medalist, lost for the second time in 23 starts. He entered the bout riding a nine-fight winning streak.

Smith was fighting in the same city where he won the World Boxing Super Series super middleweight tournament with an impressive showing over talented countryman George Groves.

In a fight overshadowed by a timekeeper’s miscue – the eighth round lasted four minutes! – former two-division title-holder Badou Jack stayed relevant in the cruiserweight division with a split decision over previously unbeaten Richard “Popeye” Rivera. Two of the judges had it 96-94 for Jack (27-3-3) with the dissenter favoring Connecticut’s Rivera (21-1) by the same tally. Jack clearly had the best of it in the final minute of the over-stuffed round. The decision was unpopular.

In a heavyweight match between two fighters who share the nickname “Beast,” former cruiserweight title challenger Andrew Tabiti (20-1, 16 KOs) stopped James Wilson whose corner pulled him out after five rounds. It was the first pro loss for LA’s Wilson (7-1-1) who was making his first start in three-and-a-half years and whose ring rust was evident in his poor stamina. After the fight, Tabiti made it known that he would welcome a match with the WBC’s inaugural bridgerweight champion Oscar Rivas.

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