In the presence of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and a host of elite sports and international figures, including FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Saudi Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz al-Faisal, Ukrainian titleholder and boxer Oleksandr Usyk won a rematch against his challenger, Anthony Joshua.
By winning the rematch, Usyk retained his world heavyweight boxing titles.
The event took place on Saturday at King Abdullah Sports City Arena in Jeddah, where a large crowd of boxing fans was able to watch the match.
Dubbed “Rage on The Red Sea,” the match ended after 12 rounds and a split decision by the judges. Two of the judges awarded the fight to Usyk, and one judge awarded the fight to Joshua.
The fight was witnessed by a crowd of nearly 40,000 boxing enthusiasts from 60 different countries. Many media professionals covered the fight.
Sports events coinciding with the fight took place in the squares surrounding the King Abdullah Sports City Arena.
Oleksandr Usyk v Anthony Joshua - WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight world title - King Abdullah Sports City Arena, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - August 20, 2022 Oleksandr Usyk celebrates winning his fight against Anthony Joshua with the belts Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
In the secondary fights that took place, Saudi boxer Ziad Al-Mayouf scored a historic start by defeating his Mexican rival Jose Alator by a technical knockout. Jordan’s Badr Al-Samrin also won the same way over the Azerbaijani Fuad Tarverdi.
“Rage on The Red Sea” is the second international fight hosted by the Kingdom, after the great success that was achieved in the Diriyah Arena fight in December 2019.
Last September, Usyk won on a unanimous decision to take the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO world heavyweight boxing belts from Joshua.
