"Usyk won the fight with a great left hand. He had a great fight on the tactical side and deserves words of appreciation," commented heavyweight legend Lennox Lewis on Oleksandr Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) win.
The Ukrainian looked better early in his bout with Anthony Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) and finished with an even bigger advantage. The former champion had his moments in the middle rounds, but he could not keep up the pace and at the end of the twelfth round was hanging on the ropes, missing heavy punches from Usyk. After the final bell, the judges counted 115-113, 116-112 and 117-112. Thus, Usyk won the IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles and became the world champion in two weight classes.
"This is not the end of the road for Joshua, but he can't be so conservative going forward and wait a few rounds before picking up the pace. Let him learn from this setback and get stronger. Usyk showed his skills in the ring and all the experience he gained in the Olympic ring. He was the world amateur champion, the Olympic champion, then he dominated and united all the belts in the featherweight division, and now he became the world heavyweight champion. Sometimes it really pays to take your time and take a slightly longer route, work hard and persevere to achieve your goals," said Lewis.
