The much expected rematch between Anthony Joshua of Great Britain and Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine may not take too long to come if fillers from the Brits camp is anything to go by as the battle line has been drawn again.
This is against the backdrop of Joshua’s response to Usyk, ‘see you soon,’ when the Ukrainian returned his belts in the dressing room after their fight on Saturday.
Britain’s unified heavyweight champion was outboxed and dethroned by the Ukrainian, who put on a magnificent performance to make history at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Joshua had moments of success throughout the fight, but could not maintain this for long enough to emerge victorious.
Usyk ultimately outclassed Joshua and had him out on his feet in the final round, with the bell saving AJ from being knocked out.
The scores were 117-112, 116-112, 115-113, crowning Usyk a two-division king of the world as the former cruiserweight champion took hold of the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles.
This is standard procedure in boxing as the champion will be sent new ones of his own by the sanctioning bodies.
The pair shook hands in the dressing room and showed plenty of respect to one another – as they did throughout the build-up.
AJ, who intends to take the rematch, concluded by telling Usyk: “See you soon.”
Usyk emulated Evander Holyfield and David Haye by moving up from cruiserweight champion to become a heavyweight champion
When Usyk got back to his dressing room, a former opponent was there waiting for him.
Derek Chisora, who Usyk outpointed last year, congratulated the new champion.
Chisora told Usyk: “You made history today man.
“Only Evander Holyfield and you now. Don’t worry about David Haye!”
talkSPORT
