In the last moments of the Final round of their Heavyweight Championship fight, Oleksandr Usyk had Anthony Joshua Pinned to the ropes and looked like a few extra seconds would've given him a definitive Knockout victory.
Unfortunately it wasn't to be as the bout was ended five seconds earlier perhaps (deliberately) to save Joshua from another humiliating Knockout.
When the final bell rang, Usyk must have felt dual feelings of apprehension and satisfaction owing to his performance and Boxing's penchant for biased scoring by the judges.
Luckily the performance left no one in doubt as to who the winner of the bout was, and it would have been insane for any Judge to have seen it any other way. Usyk was declared a deserved winner, becoming Just the third man in History to become Champion in both the Cruiserweight and Heavyweight divisions.
Despite his pedigree which includes an Olympic Gold medal, World Amateur Championship and becoming the Undisputed Cruiserweight champion by holding all four Major Belts - Usyk was considered the underdog by most pundits in the build up to the fight.
Big Mistake?
Many felt that Joshua's size would be a big factor seeing as he weighs more and is significantly taller than Usyk (6'6 to 6'3). Writing off someone with credentials as loaded as Usyk was a big mistake though, and he made Joshua pay with his superior boxing skills, footwork and conditioning.
While the media made the mistake by not taking to account boxing skills of an accomplished master boxer, Usyk himself did not take Joshua for granted.
You Have to Want It
In the post fight Interview Usyk stated that he had been in a training camp for six months for the Joshua fight, where he didn't get to see his family during the period. Six months is a long time to get ready for anything, and the dedication and desire for victory was very evident.
Take into contrast Andy Ruiz who went on a party spree after his first victory over Joshua, coming in for the rematch overweight and unprepared. Usyk, even with his far superior skillset and conditioning, still made beating Joshua his only focus for six months and came out victorious.
He has also been quoted saying that he doesn't fight for money but that he fights for Glory, and all the accolades that come with being the best. This singularity/Clarity of purpose was always going to make Usyk a difficult opponent for anyone to beat.
Conclusion
Anyone who paid attention to Usyk before the Joshua fight would likely not be surprised with the result. He has been laying the groundwork for victory for a very long time and the boxing masterclass he put up was simply a materialization of his preparedness.
A proposed rematch in the future will likely go the same way because Usyk seems to have a perfect blend of desire, discipline and natural talent to out-fox any opponent on his day. It was a well deserved victory for Usyk and one that has certainly put the Boxing World on Notice