Segun Akanni, Toronto, Canada 
Oleksandr Usyk has once again defeated Anthony Joshua by a split decision to retain his heavyweight titles.
The Ukrainian boxer won the bout after two of the three judges scored him higher — 115-113 and 116-112 — than Joshua.
The Nigerian-born British boxer was bested by Usyk in front of thousands of fans at King Abdullah Sports City Arena in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday night.
Joshua entered the fight hoping to reclaim the WBA, IBF, and WBO titles which he lost to the Ukrainian in September 2021
Addressing the crowd after the fight, Joshua said he had an elite prospect from youth.
“If you knew my story you would understand the passion. I ain’t no amateur boxer from five years old that was an elite prospect from youth. I was going to jail, I got bail and I started training my arse off, I wanted to be able to fight.
“I’m stealing this Usyk I’m sorry, but it’s because of the passion we put into this. This guy to beat me tonight, maybe I could have done better, but it shows the level of hard work I put in so please give him a round of applause as our heavyweight champion of the world.”
He added, “I’m not a 12-round fighter, look at me, I’m a new breed of heavyweights, Mike Tyson, Sonny Liston, Jack Dempsey, ‘you don’t throw combinations like Rocky Marciano’, I’m 18 stone, I’m heavy, it’s hard work. This guy here is a phenomenal talent, we’re going to cheer for him three times.
