Kamaru Usman needed all five rounds to get a decision over his loudmouth opponent, Colby Covington, Sunday morning at the Madison Square Garden.
It was a rematch after their December 2019 match that also went the distance.
Usman, who had promised to knock out the American and in the second round, dropped Covington twice but the No.2 ranked fighter clung on with help from the bell.
In the end, the three judges scored the fight 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 in favour of the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’.
Despite the bad blood and unsavoury language leading to the fight, both fighters hugged at the end of the fight as Usman praised his opponent.
Usman, the best pound-for-pound in the welterweight division, paid Covington a high compliment when he said, “ he is a tough “son of a b*tch”.
Usman admitted Covington had improved from their first fight, classifying the American as the second-best pound-for-pound fighter in the world after himself.
“I just gotta give it up. I know there was a lot of trash talk and bad blood and there’s still going to be some after tonight.
“But he’s a tough son of a b—. … I mean, when you share an octagon with someone this tough, you can’t help it. That respect is going to come.
“He hit me with some shots and I could tell they’ve been working on it. The power came up a little bit and I could tell they had been working on it. I had to give him that respect.”
Trump acolyte Covington admitted Usman had been the better fighter on the night and hinted of a third match with the Nigerian when he said, “it ain’t done yet”.
Usman improved to 20-1 and has not lost since May 2013.
Via Premium Times
