Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, 35, has retained his IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight title via a split-decision win over British-Nigerian boxer, Anthony Joshua, in a thrilling contest on Sunday.

Joshua, 47, and Usyk took to the ring in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at around 10pm GMT for the second fight as the British-Nigerian boxer sought to become the heavyweight champion of the world for the third time, joining the likes of Muhammed Ali and Lennox Lewis.

However, that hope was dashed as Usyk landed more solid jabs on Joshua in the final round and the former champion tried to counter with punches of his own.

Recall that Usyk had last year defeated the defending champion in London. The Ukrainian victory may set up a potential unification bout with Britain’s Tyson Fury.

Fighting 11 months on from their initial encounter at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Usyk majestically dethroned Joshua, each man brought renewed intensity to their rivalry, which reached a sensational crescendo during rounds nine and 10 as the action ebbed back and forth.

By that stage, however, Usyk’s sensational skills had largely negated Joshua’s intelligent body attack and opened up an advantage that was recognized by margins of 116-112 and 115-113 on two scorecards, although judge Glenn Feldman pretty inexplicably gave it to Joshua 115-113.

When his victory was announced, Usyk shed tears before his national flag, having joined in the resistance against the Russian invasion in his homeland between these two seismic triumphs over Joshua. The 35-year-old is now also in possession of the Ring Magazine belt, which was held until his recent retirement by Tyson Fury. The undefeated Briton still holds the WBC crown and that is where Usyk’s attention will now turn, with his status as a modern great already secured.

oshua ended the evening with an erratic and profanity-laced, if largely sentimentally sound, address in the middle of the ring that jarringly hogged Usyk’s deserved limelight. But it was the result of what must have become a maddening experience against a genius of the ring.

After his timid defeat in London, Joshua looked to put the work he has done under new trainer Robert Garcia into practice. His work to Usyk’s midriff in round two had an authentically Mexican flavour.