Anthony Joshua was deemed invincible for several years while he was ruling over the heavyweight division as the unified world champion. However, the last few years haven’t been so good for him.
Joshua is no longer undefeated and has also lost his heavyweight world titles. He is right now on the road to reclaiming his dominant aura. In 26 active professional wins, Anthony Joshua has attained 23 Knockout victories. He is undoubtedly one of the hardest punchers in the modern-day heavyweight boxing.
That said, the three losses in his professional resume appear to have faded a lot of AJ’s achievements. Anthony Joshua has lost to only two boxers so far in the professional chain. While he could avenge one of those men, the other looked way too superior to the Englishman.
Anthony Joshua suffered his maiden defeat against Andy Ruiz Jr. in a major upset. After beating Ruiz Jr. in a rematch and Kubrat Pulev in his next, Joshua lost consecutively to Oleksandr Usyk. Here’s a look back at all three of those defeats.
Andy Ruiz Jr. Shocked The World Against Anthony Joshua
Following 20 wins as a pro, Anthony Joshua made his debut on US soil by putting the world heavyweight titles at stake against Andy Ruiz Jr. in June 2019. Headlining at the MSG in New York, Joshua started off strongly and floored his Mexican rival in the third round.
Most of the world predicted it to be over for Ruiz Jr, except. Meanwhile, ‘The Destroyer’ had different plans. Despite being the shorter man, Andy Ruiz Jr, landed a flurry of punches on Joshua lopsidedly.
In round seven, Andy Ruiz Jr. knocked down Anthony Joshua. In a shocking sight, he went on to dominate the fight by scoring a TKO win over ‘AJ’ to become the first-ever Mexican heavyweight world champion.
Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk- One-Sided Defeat
After reclaiming the heavyweight-champion status in a rematch against Any Ruiz Jr. in 2019 in Saudi Arabia, Anthony Joshua defended the titles on home soil by knocking out Kubrat Pulev. Joshua called out Tyson Fury for an undisputed clash afterward. Nevertheless, Oleksandr Usyk could get a crack at the titles against Joshua in September 2021.
In front of a stacked Tottenham Hotspur stadium, Oleksandr Usyk displayed a clinical performance. His southpaw stance played a pivotal role as Joshua failed to decode his rival’s gameplan. He remained on the wrong end of a one-sided beatdown.
Although neither man could knock each other out, Oleksandr Usyk comfortably won the fight and the heavyweight titles via unanimous decision. Three men scored the contest 112-117, 112-116, and 113-115 in favour of Usyk.
AJ Failed To Reclaim Anything In Jeddah
Akin to his situation against Andy Ruiz Jr, Joshua went into a rematch against Usyk after 11 months in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The event was organized as a boxing festival in the Middle East with several celebrities coming together in attendance.
Boxing fans expected Joshua to offer a fierce game plan as one more defeat would have erased his position from an undisputed heavyweight clash against fellow Britisher Tyson Fury. Joshua even applied new training methods with so much to hold on his side.
All of those efforts looked bleak as Oleksandr Usyk lopsidedly dominated Joshua once again for all 12-rounds. It seemed like Usyk had AJ’s number. A frustrated Joshua, delivered a speech on mic after the defeat which was harshly criticized by many.
As for the outcome of the fight, Oleksandr Usyk retained the heavyweight title by beating Joshua via a split decision Two judges scored the bout 115-112, 112-116 for Usyk, while one judge scored it 113-115 for ‘AJ’.
