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Black shorts instead of white, Robert Garcia in the corner instead of Rob McCracken, force instead of finesse. It was all meant to be different this time, but that is an awfully hard thing to achieve when the non-variable is Oleksandr Usyk.
It’s all well and good being a fine fighter like Anthony Joshua, a two-time heavyweight champion and one who deserves greater and wider respect than he is given; it is another altogether when the man in the opposite corner is a generational talent and a pound-for-pound great.
We could all see that distinction, with the exception of that generous judge who scored it for Joshua by two.
Anthony Joshua failed to reclaim the WBA, IBF and WBO belts he lost in North London in 2021
Oleksandr Usyk was a worthy winner on Saturday night, mostly accounting for the Briton
Good on that guy – sometimes it is fun to be different, even in delusion.
But let’s not overlook the role Joshua played in a slow-burning fight that became fascinating in the deeper rounds.
He didn’t get the points, but as so often in boxing, he was still able to make one or two.
Among them, and most tellingly, he is not gun shy. He is not afraid.
He wasn’t afraid to take an immediate rematch when easier pay was available, and he was not afraid to let his punches go.
Joshua lifted in the ninth round, pressurising the Ukrainian without landing a knockout blow
That latter criticism has been the charge since he was slapped around by Andy Ruiz in New York way back when.
Too worried to leave his chin open, they said. Possibly they were right. Remember that dull and functional Ruiz rematch in 2019, the last time he was in Saudi Arabia?
Even with recorded delivery he wouldn’t have put a meaningful punch in the post that night.
Same story when he lost his belts all over again to Usyk 11 months ago. Not enough punches thrown.
So what a revelation, if you will, to see a man who built his reputation on ferocious punching going back to the bread and butter.
The 32-year-old showed support for his opponent post-fight in a largely bizarre soliloquy
It didn’t come for a while – through eight rounds, which he probably trailed by two or three, he mostly went to the body, but only in isolated shots.
He had hinted he would in a conversation at their final head-to-head on Friday, when a microphone picked him up saying:
‘How’s your body shot in sparring?’ If that was a nod to a whispered vulnerability, then Joshua’s approach demonstrated how seriously he rated the rumour.
The effect wasn’t anything that caused any serious damage, but the extra dynamism did make Joshua less of an easy target for Usyk and it did enable closer rounds than that first fight.
The question is where to from here for Joshua, with a fight against Tyson Fury very fanciful
Joshua even donned a Ukrainian flag following the fight in tribute to his opponent’s homeland
Where the action and headway truly came was in the ninth. He started to swing again.
At one point, after landing a big left, he even grinned at Usyk, as if he was enjoying a sport that too often in recent years has seemed to stress him excessively because of the pressure of expectation.
Alas, in the next round, barring a straight right into Usyk’s jaw, the Ukrainian roared back.
He was comfortable again. That is his class.
He is a great, and against the very good, the great will always win, irrespective of what one scorecard said.
His movement was too good, as was his speed of feet and hand, especially that left, which is a marvel of sport.
It drove Joshua to distraction – his behaviour after the fight, when he stormed out of the ring before returning on a sweary rant, was the kind of erraticism that comes from knowing your best cannot get nearly close enough.
Usyk will do that anyone, or rather almost anyone. And that takes us to Tyson Fury. We all wanted to see him fight Joshua – there isn’t a boxing purist alive who wouldn’t rather see that meeting of titans.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn suggested Deontay Wilder could be a future opponent