The Gypsy King’ suffered the first professional defeat of his career to the Oleksandr Usyk, losing via a split-decision verdict from the judges at ringside.

The British heavyweight was defeated in his bid to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999.

In the process he lost his WBC heavyweight title that he had prized away from the hard-hitting America Deontay Wilder a man he shared the ring with three times.

Looking ahead to the rematch with Usyk he compared the two fighters that have given him the toughest time in his career and claimed ‘The Bronzebomber’ was the much more dangerous opponent

“It’s a different animal, do you know what I mean?” he said. “I’ll speak brutally, because both men are good fighters, and I respect them.

“But when you’re in a ring with a prime Deontay Wilder, who [has a] 44-0 [record] with 43 knockouts, you know you’re in trouble at any given moment.

“Whether it is round one, round ten or round twelve with two seconds to go – one mistake, it’s game over. With Usyk, I don’t feel that much terror.

“There’s no fear there. After he hit me in round nine, how many times did he hit me clean after that, in that round? He caught me with quite a few [and it] didn’t do anything.

“If I would have had him in that position, I’d have knocked him out. If I’d have been in that position with Daniel Dubois, I’d have been knocked out cold.

“He’s a good boxer and he’s a heavyweight, he can punch hard. But there’s different levels to power. One man can switch you off like a TV, and one man can hit you and hurt you and wear you down.