“That smile was there again, Joshua’s tell, his irrepressible betrayal; it broke out broadest with mere seconds left in the final round. Usyk had answered the challenge of Joshua’s mid-fight rally by returning to—and amplifying—what worked. And so it was Joshua, smiling and sagging into the ropes, suffering punch upon punch as the seconds ticked away just fast enough for him to relinquish his titles on his feet rather than his back. The fighter who committed extra time to the heavy bag in training drowned by an opponent who never stops moving, one who moves his head before and after he punches, who knows not to be there when the return fire comes—and yet who seemingly gets bigger as the fight wears on. What Bart might’ve written about that.”
Read Kingdom Come: Oleksandr Usyk is a Heavyweight Champion on Hannibal Boxing.
In Between Rounds 