Anthony Joshua’s reign as world boxing heavyweight champion ended on Saturday, with the proposed “Battle of Britain” against Tyson Fury now in tatters.
This was after Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine claimed a stunning unanimous decision win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
Usyk was giving up three inches in height and four in reach, as well as nearly 20 pounds in weight, for this fight.
But the former undisputed world cruiserweight champion’s technical acumen came to the fore in an electric atmosphere.
Joshua finished the bout slumped against the ropes as his smaller foe looked for a dramatic finish.
And, as it was not forthcoming, Usyk claimed the WBA, IBF and WBO titles after he was given the nod by all three judges.
Scores of 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113 were just reward after a near-masterclass from the unbeaten Usyk.
He became only the third fighter after Evander Holyfield and David Haye to win world titles at cruiserweight and heavyweight.
Joshua was obligated to face WBO mandatory challenger Usyk after a bout against Fury fell through earlier this year.
He appeared philosophical in accepting the result when the scores came as he suffered just the second defeat of his career.
Joshua said on twitter afterwards: “Keep positive even if the world’s crumbling in front of you! London I love you and thank you each and every time!”
As well as giving up several physical advantages to Joshua, Usyk had to contend with the hostile atmosphere that greeted his entrance to the ring from the 66,267 fans who attended this bout.
But he retained an intense focus throughout and his combination of speed and almost non-stop movement from an awkward southpaw stance befuddled Joshua.
Joshua’s right eye became increasingly swollen as the fight wore on after a succession of rapid left hands found their mark.
He was hurt on several occasions, most notably in the final seconds of the fight as a flurry of punches sent him reeling back to the ropes.
Joshua was just about hanging on from the onslaught before being put out of his misery by the judges.
Usyk, who revealed earlier in the week his new-look shaven head and moustache was a nod to his Cossack ancestry, later said via a translator: “The fight went exactly as I expected it to go.
“There were a couple of moments when Anthony pushed me hard but nothing special. I had no objective to knock him out because my corner pushed me not to do that.
“At the start, I hit him and tried to knock him out but my trainer said ‘just stop and do your job’.”
The 34-year-old Ukrainian, who won Olympic heavyweight gold at London 2012 the day before Joshua memorably topped the podium in the super-heavyweight category, was slippery.
He threw in plenty of feints as his opponent tried without much success to establish his jab.
This was just Usyk’s third fight at heavyweight, having moved up to boxing’s blue riband division two years ago.
But he established an early pattern of success as Joshua was unable to get going.
Usyk had his head jolted back in the third round by a picture-perfect left-cross before the outgoing champion fired back a warning shot.
But it was a fantastic start from the challenger, whose only concern early on was a small cut underneath his right eye.
Joshua did get his right hand working in the fifth and sixth rounds, undoubtedly his best in the fight.
But Usyk reasserted his authority at the start of the second half of the fight, another left hook sending Joshua staggering backwards before regaining his footing.
Even at this point it seemed Joshua’s grasp on his titles was slipping.
Another savage left in the ninth drew a nod of appreciation from Joshua, who had developed a welt under one of his eyes.
Both combatants seemed to slow down in the championship rounds, but Usyk was still noticeably quicker than his foe.
Joshua entered the last round needing at least one or two knockdowns to have an impact on the scorecards.
But he could not fashion anything and it was Usyk who closed the show as the bell came to his opponent’s rescue
Joshua, fresh from being dethroned as world boxing heavyweight champions, is set to go to hospital to check a suspected broken eye socket.
Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, who announced this moments after the loss to Usyk, said also that his fighter was “devastated” by the defeat.
He, however, acknowledged that the Joshua camp had no reservations about the result, and the better fighter won the bout.
“Congratulations to Oleksandr Usyk. What a fighter. He put in a great performance and the better man won,” Hearn said.
“I had it reasonably close in the eighth and then Usyk ran away with it.”
Usyk dethroned Joshua in his own backyard with a stunning display to earn a unanimous points decision in front of a sell-out crowd at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The 34-year-old former undisputed cruiserweight world champion put on a masterclass to silence the vast majority of the 67,000 fans who packed into the huge arena.
Usyk, giving away height, weight and reach to the champion, proved too elusive for Joshua throughout an enthralling contest and landed the much cleaner shots.
He finished with a flurry in round 12 as he went in search of a knockout.
Joshua stayed upright but the decision was a formality as Usyk seized the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts with the three judges scoring it 117-112, 116-112, 115-113.
Former Olympic champion Usyk, contesting only his third professional heavyweight fight, follows in the footsteps of compatriots Vladimir and Vitali Klitschko.
The Klitschko Brothers dominated the division for a decade from 2004 to 2015.
He is only the third cruiserweight world champion to step up a weight and become the heavyweight world champion after Evander Holyfield and David Haye.
For Joshua, a second career defeat was a crushing blow and scuppered hopes of a unification showdown with fellow Briton Tyson Fury, the WBC title holder.
Fury takes on American Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas on October 9.
Even the most diehard Joshua fans had to concede their man had been schooled by a skilful craftsman who rarely looked ruffled even when sustaining a cut above his eye late on.
Joshua gave the crowd little to cheer and ran out of ideas against his southpaw opponent who was ahead throughout.
A sensational atmosphere greeted the fighters as they made the long walk to the ring, with the crowd in full cry and fireworks blasting into the sky.
But from the first bell, Joshua appeared unsure whether to try to overpower his opponent or outbox him — failing miserably at both.
A nervous hush descended on the stadium in the opening rounds as Usyk’s threat became all too apparent.
Constantly on the move, he rocked Joshua in the third with a powerful left hand.
Usyk retained control in the following rounds as Joshua failed to unleash his supposed superior power and the Londoner was in big trouble again in the seventh round as he was sent staggering backwards by a big left hook.
A nick appeared above Usyk’s eye in the 10th round but Joshua’s face was showing signs of battle damage.
Joshua needed a knockout to retain his belts but it was Usyk who came closest with a ferocious attack at the end of the 12th which left the Briton reeling.
Even before the official result was announced, some Joshua fans were heading for the exits while Usyk’s followers were just getting the party started.
