Judges’ Scorecards Reveal Who Would Have Won Before Anthony Joshua Suffered Eye Injury in Round 9 vs Usyk
- Anthony Joshua was winning Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night, until the ninth round when he suffered eye injury
- Usyk dominated the last three rounds of their bout to become the new heavyweight champion holding the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO titles
- According to the judges’ scorecards, Joshua was leading the bout until Round 9 when he suffered an eye injury
Obtained scorecards of the judges for Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk’s bout reveal that the Briton would have won the fight, if not for the eye injury he suffered in the ninth round.
SPORTbible are reporting that the three judges for the event Howard Foster, Steve Weisfield and Viktor Fesechenko rated the bout to be up close until the ninth round.
It was a moment that changed the momentum of the fight as the Ukrainian then dominated the final three rounds.
Reports suggest that Joshua suffered a significant injury to his eye socket as his promoter Eddie Hearn expressed concerns that it may have broken. Eddie Hearn said via Metro:
"(Joshua) never really got going. He will go to hospital now. I don't know if he has broken his eye socket. It doesn't look great."
Anthony Joshua was beaten comprehensively in the end by Usyk in front of a 65,000 strong crowd at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
After the fight, Joshua said via SunSport:
"It was bad at one stage but it's getting a lot better now. From the ninth I couldn't see. I couldn't see anything really.
"My eye was shut but it was a good experience because in adversity you've just got to learn to control yourself and stay on top of things.”
Premier League stars spotted at Joshua vs Usyk boxing match
Meanwhile, Chelsea star Mason Mount took the opportunity to watch the unified heavyweight contest between Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk.
The England midfielder got a knock in the Carabao Cup win against Aston Villa in midweek as was not available for the fixture at Stamford Bridge.
Mount and West Ham’s Declan Rice spotted during AJ's fight with in style with a three judges giving the match in favour of Usyk.
Joshua predicts winner between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder
Legit.ng earlier reported that Anthony Joshua believes Deontay Wilder would emerge victorious in his trilogy fight with Tyson Fury in October because of his approach towards the fight.
All is now set for the two heavyweights to do one battle for the third time after drawing the first and the Gypsy king recording a seventh-round stoppage in the second.
AJ and Fury were supposed to be competing in the squared circle during the summer but the Gypsy King was ordered by the court to complete his trilogy with the Bronze Bomber.