Oleksandr Usyk was a clear winner over Anthony Joshua on Saturday night – a fact backed up by the punch statistics for the rematch.
World Boxing News live scored the event for the duration. Those scorecards led to a convincing 119-109 tally in favor of the superior champion.
Joshua did well in some of the rounds. He did better than in the first fight at times. However, he remained picked off by the better punches in almost every session.
Total punches landed don’t tell the whole story. But total power punches do as Usyk won eight rounds clearly, including the last three.
Joshua’s best round by far was the ninth – the only one WBN could give the Briton clearly. The other three were a case of what the scorer felt regarding better work or most eye-catching skill and dynamism.
The latter went to Usyk all day long. Therefore, you can argue between 116-112 for Usyk and 119-109.
You cannot get anywhere near Glenn Feldman’s 115-113 to AJ. That’s a crime in itself.
Usyk vs Joshua 2 scorecard – round breakdown
Round 1: Both men landed three solid blows but better work from Usyk.
Rnd 2: An argument for Joshua would depend on the kind of work the scorer likes.
Round 3: More work and more success for Usyk.
Rnd 4: Clear Usyk round.
Round 5: Clear Usyk round.
Rnd 6: Clear Usyk round.
Round 7: Usyk round.
Rnd 8: It can hold a debate for Joshua.
Round 9: Clear Joshua round.
Rnd 10: Clear Usyk.
Round 11: Clear Usyk.
Rnd 12: Clear Usyk.
Potential scores: 119-109, 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112. All for Usyk.
Joshua has claims to the first, second, eighth, and ninth. The rest of the fight belonged to Usyk.
CompuBox, who counted the scores, gave the definitive view that rang true to the Usyk vs Joshua 2 scorecard verdict.
Usyk broke AJ punch records
“Oleksandr Usyk established new highs in punches landed by an Anthony Joshua opponent (170). He had the most punches landed on Anthony Joshua in a round (39 punches in the 10th round).
“Over the last three rounds, Usyk out-threw Joshua 232 – 149 and out landed Joshua 79 – 29.
“Joshua came into this fight, landing 12.4 of 39.2 punches per round. In this fight, Joshua averaged 10 and 41.
“Usyk came into this bout, landing 15.5 of 50 punches per round (31%) as a heavyweight. In this fight, Usyk averaged 14 and 59.
All in all, there are absolutely no arguments over who won the fight.
This eventuality makes Joshua’s second dose of surprise at losing the verdict all the more surprising.
Congratulations Usyk. Thankfully, the best fighter won the fight.
WBN Editor Phil has over ten years of boxing news experience. Follow WBN on Facebook @officialworldboxingnews and Twitter @worldboxingnews.
