By Akinwale Kasali
The hope of Nigeria-British pugilist, Anthony Joshua of regaining Heavyweight Titles lost to Oleksandr Usyk in an earlier fight suffered a major setback, as the Ukrainian out-punched the Ijebu, Ogun State -born, to defeat him for the second time. The title fight was held in Saudi Arabia.
Also, Nigeria’s undisputed UFC Champion, Kamaru Usman was also defeated by British Fighter, Leon Edwards, to become the second ever British UFC Champion at the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, USA early this morning. It was by a technical knock-out.
A fuming Joshua lost on a split decision.
Joshua threw two of Usyk’s belts on the floor at the end of the fight following the result and headed for his changing room before storming back to the ring to shake Usyk’s hand.
He then picked up the microphone and went on an expletive-filled rant, discussing the fight, his career, and the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.
Joshua’s emotions were clearly running high following the loss after twelve rounds of great boxing.
“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.’
Joshua pushed Usyk all the way and produced a more impressive performance in his first fight at Tottenham Hotspur stadium last year but couldn’t find a way past his Ukrainian counterpart.
The former champion insisted he was a ‘new breed of heavyweight’ in the aftermath of defeat as he labelled Usyk as a ‘phenomenal talent’.
“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.”
Seven years ago, Usman outpointed Edwards as part of what became a 19-fight win streak for the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’, earning him the title of UFC’s pound-for-pound king.
Edwards also came into this fight on an undefeated streak, winning nine bouts in a row, while patiently waiting for his first title shot.
The Jamaican-born Briton avenged his loss to Usman in 2015, leaving Utah as welterweight champion after landing a vicious kick that sent Usman sprawling to the canvas with just seconds left of their five-bout clash.
The fight started with both fighters throwing caution to the wind and a confident Usman landing solid blows on Edwards’ face and sides. The Brit countered and locked Usman down getting his own clean hits in.
In the subsequent rounds, Usman kept his feet on the ground as an ankle injury hampered his movement, but he was still able to land some solid punches on Edwards.
The fight wasn’t close as the fourth round ended with Usman winning 3-1 and only needed to avoid a knockout to retain his title and match MMA Greatest of All Time Anderson Silva with six successive title defences.
However, in round five, the unlikely happened as the Brit feinted and tricked Usman, using the opening to land a solid left kick on Usman’s head, which sent the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ to an early rest.
On becoming the new UFC welterweight champion, Edwards said, “I feel great. They all said I couldn’t do it, they all said I couldn’t do it. Look at me now.
“It doesn’t matter. From the trenches. I’m built like this. I go until the final bell. Pound-for-pound, head shot, dead.
“I told you we could win a belt from the UK, now look at me. There is no pound-for-pound, the belt belongs to nobody.
“I told you, mum, I’d change our lives. World champion, world champion, look at me now. I was born in Jamaica with nothing. I lived in a wood shack with a zinc roof.”
