Usyk upsets Joshua to claim heavyweight supremacy

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Oleksandr Uysk is not all hype. He’s the real deal.

Entering the fight as the heavy underdog against the superior heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, the Ukrainian well-oiled machine shook off the haters and displayed one of the most stunning beatdowns in boxing history after being crowned as the new WBO, WBA, and the IBF champ of the world.

Usyk put on a show and showed elite boxing skills from the first to the last round and just kept on piling up the points to secure the huge victory.

The Ukrainian’s speed and agility were too much to handle for Joshua as he could not find the timing to unload his huge right hand.

Too slick and slippery, Usyk’s head and body movement looked crisp that made him untouchable in the first five rounds of the match.

During the seventh, Usyk landed a huge left hook that wobbled Joshua. Since then, Usyk gained a lot of confidence and started connecting on his combinations.

Usyk continued to punish Joshua with his non-stop jabs and straights and looked like a man on a mission as he kept on turning up the gas as the rounds drew to a close.

The last and final round looked like three minutes of survival for Joshua as the Ukrainian machine tagged him again and hurt him in one sequence when the British was held at the ropes for almost 30 seconds.

With the win, Usyk kept his untainted record while improving to 19 wins and 13 knockouts. On the other hand, Joshua suffered his second professional loss and dropped to 24 wins, 22 knockouts, and two defeats.