Anthony Joshua fell to another defeat at the dazzling fists of Oleksandr Usyk yet still found redemption by pushing the Ukrainian pound-for-pound star to the limit of his endurance.
Joshua was outworked to drop a split decision at Jeddah’s King Abdullah Sports City Arena with scores of 113-115, 115-113,116-112 conforming that he is now a peripheral figure among the heavyweight division’s elite.
But while Usyk retained the WBA, IBF and WBO titles to set-up the prospect of a unification clash with Tyson Fury, he was hurt on several occasions by an underdog who was transformed from the first meeting at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Joshua lacked the gas or the class to reclaim his belts, but he went out on his shield in a thriller that atoned for his passive display in London nearly a year ago.