Please click here to read the full report on the Oleksandr Usyk-Anthony Joshua fight Saturday in Saudi Arabia.
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Oleksandr Usyk successfully defended his heavyweight titles by defeating Anthony Joshua by a split decision in their rematch Saturday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Two judges had Usyk winning, 116-112 and 115-113. The third scored it for Joshua, 115-113. Boxing Junkie scored it 115-113 for Usyk, seven rounds to five.
Usyk defeated Joshua by a unanimous decision by a unanimous decision to win the titles last September.
A full report will follow shortly.
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Filip Hrgovich survived a first-round knockdown to defeat Zhang Zhilei by a unanimous decision in a competitive, back-and-forth IBF heavyweight title eliminator.
The scores were 115-112, 115-112 and 114-113. Boxing Junkie scored it 115-112 for Hrgovic, eight rounds to four.
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Callum Smith stopped Mathieu Bauderlique in the fourth round of a scheduled 12-round lightweight fight, Smith’s second as a full-fledged 175-pounder.
Smith (29-1, 21 KOs) put Bauderlique (21-2, 12 KOs) down with a left hook early in the final round. The Englishman followed that with a series of hard shots, including another left hook that sent the Frenchman to the canvas again and ended the fight.
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Badou Jack defeated Richard Rivera by a split decision in a 10-round cruiserweight bout.
Two judges scored it for Jack, 96-94 and 96-94. One had Rivera winning, 96-94.
Jack (27-3-3, 16 KOs) apparently benefitted from an extended Round 8, which reportedly went 3 minutes, 58 seconds. The Swede did particularly well in that extra minute.
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Oleksandr Usyk will defend his three heavyweight titles against former champion Anthony Joshua in their rematch today (Saturday) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (DAZN).
Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) won the IBF, WBA and WBO belts by outpointing Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) last September.
Also on the card, light heavyweight contender Callum Smith will face Mathieu Bauderlique; Filip Hrgovic will take on Zhang Zhilei in a heavyweight bout; and cruiserweight contender Badou Jack will fight Richard Rivera.
The card begins at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT. The main event will take place later in the show.
Boxing Junkie will post results of all the featured bouts on the card immediately after they end. Simply return to this post when the time comes.
Full coverage – a fight story, photo gallery and analysis – will follow on separate posts the night of the fight and the following day.
Enjoy the fights!
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