Oleksandr Usyk v Anthony Joshua II: The Englishman AJ fails in his attempt to win the world championship title England's Anthony Joshua&...

Oleksandr Usyk v Anthony Joshua II: The Englishman AJ fails in his attempt to win the world championship title

England's Anthony Joshua's bid to reclaim the world's unified heavyweight titles ended in frustration as Oleksandr Usyk produced a strong performance to win by split decision in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

In a fight dubbed 'Rage on the Red Sea', the tough Joshua, 32, showed his desire to take the title - and looked to have improved from their first fight - but was unable to match the Ukrainian's skills .

Two judges decided the fight by 115-113 and 116-112 giving victory to Usyk, while the third judge gave the opponent 115-113. Although there were competitive rounds, Usyk deserved the win.

This victory belongs to my country

Oleksandr Usyk after beating Anthony Joshua said: "I want to thank everyone who prayed for me. I want to thank God for the help he gave me today because he has given me a lot today. My Lord is Jesus Christ. I can thank you Saudia. Thank you very much.

"I dedicate this victory to my family, my country, my team, to all the soldiers who defend this country. Thank you very much.

"This is already history. Many generations will watch this fight, especially the round when someone tried to hit me hard but I stood up and came back."

On whether he will fight Tyson Fury to unify the titles: "I'm sure Tyson Fury is not retired yet. I'm sure he wants to fight me. I want to fight him. If I don't fight Fury I don't fight at all.

"Only God knows if I will fight with him or not, but all those around me, my team, will help me.

"Thank you Lord for everything."

 A unique fighter

Anthony Joshua took the microphone and said: "Usyk is a good fighter. It's just a feeling.

"If you knew my story, you would understand the passion. I'm not a good boxer. I was going to jail and I got bail and I started training. If I was going to be convicted, I wanted to be able to fight.

"It shows the energy we put into this. For this guy to beat me tonight, it shows the level of effort he must have put in so please give him a round of applause as world heavyweight champion.

"They said I'm not a 12-round fighter. This guy is amazing."

Speaking directly to Usyk: "I was reading about Ukraine and all the champions from your amazing country. I've never been there. What's happening there, I don't know but it's not good. For Usyk to be champion, under those circumstances, please raise your hands."