Anthony Joshua vs Wladimir Klitschko Was Everything It Was Hoped To Be
It was probably the most-hyped heavyweight fight since the days of Lennox Lewis. In terms of crowd numbers the 90,000 folks that filled out Wembley Stadium made for the most spectators at a boxing match-up in England since before the war (WW2, that is). 41 year old Wladimir Klitschko, trying to regain the crown he wore for a decade as the finest heavyweight in the world, up against Anthony Joshua, the finest of the next generation of fighters. What more could you want?
A competitive fight, I s’pose… but guess what we got that too. In fact it was one of the best title fights in years, much better than Klitschko vs Tyson Fury, where a shocking result outshone a rather terrible bout in which neither boxer was at their best (especially not Klitschko, who looked lazy and tired for the distance). Nah, Klitschko immediately looked more agile, swifter on his feet, against Joshua despite the 17 months out of the ring. Although he also didn’t throw as many punches in the early rounds as AJ, the home town hero, who took a tentative lead in the scorebooks.
But AJ wasn’t doing all that much either and Klitschko probably felt the bout was going exactly how he wanted it to. It didn’t matter that he dropped a couple points early, what mattered was that he neutered the notoriously aggressive Joshua from the start and dragged him into a mid-round grind like he’s never experience before. That’s what happened and Klitschko, by the fourth, had taken control of this bout with his busy jab.
None of Joshua’s fights had gone beyond the seventh round before this one. With that, there were worries about his durability, as well as the potential vulnerability behind his power. Neither of those are known things, they’re just theories based on never having been tested that way before. Dillian Whyte shook him when they fought but AJ kept on coming to knock him down and out. It’s that knockout strength that’s made Joshua so feared and in a funny way it’s also to blame for the perceived weaknesses in his game.
Weaknesses? Anthony Joshua laughs at your puny theories. He came out of his corner in the fifth with a power and a purpose and unleashed a flurry of shots on Wlad from the very sound of the bell, wobbling the former champ before he could even expect it. Klitschko hit the canvas. Down he went. But the Ukrainian was up again within the count and able to hang on through another spell of haymakers and thunderpunches. Not only did he hang on, but with Joshua loosening up on him Klitschko was able to land a few counters and from wondering how he could possible survive another two and a half minutes of this round, Klitschko was arguably winning it by the time the bell sounded – to the dismay of a flustered crowd.
It felt like Joshua might have punched himself out in that fifth round and the measured Klitschko was able to use all his experience to take advantage. Joshua was still puffing in the sixth and Wlad didn’t hold back. A thumping right drive to the forehead had Anthony stumbling from his feet and Wlad had overcome that knockdown of his own. Joshua got up and tried to slow the fight but struggled, he tried to clinch and Klitschko shrugged him off and into the ropes.
Then, perhaps because Klitschko is a 41 year old fighter who’s been out of action for over a year, everything slowed down. Joshua regathered his composure but Klitschko settled into a rhythm and took the next two rounds with pure pugilist precision. Because of the nature of those early rounds and those that followed the two knockdowns in the middle, there weren’t that many punches landed and a couple could’ve gone either way. Klitschko was probably up a point going into the tenth, although it depends how you saw that fifth round, but with three rounds left it was gonna be all his if the tempo continued as it had been, despite Joshua landing a few body shots to claim the ninth.
Anthony Joshua clearly copped on to that line of thinking too, because for the second time in the fight he hit the round running. Klitschko was better prepared for the onslaught this time and was able to keep a safe distance for most of the fliers coming his way. After a minute of that he was back to stalking his opponent like wounded prey, waiting for his chance to strike. Credit to Joshua he hardly ever let his guard down and Klitschko spent the whole fight wanting to drive his right arm through but having to withhold it. His jab was a weapon but Joshua was the man landing more power combinations.
Which takes us to that incredible eleventh round, where a great fight became a legendary one. The bout was in the balance and Joshua was the more energetic fighter, he was the one who rose to the occasion in those championship rounds and the entire scrap was rocked off its axis by this already-iconic upper cut from Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua, born 15 October 1989 in Watford, standing at 198cm tall and boasting a perfect professional heavyweight record of 18-0, with 18 knockouts.
That record was soon to read 19-0. Joshua finally had Klitschko stumbling. For once, the Ukrainian legend couldn’t find an escape route. He couldn’t slow down the British champ and after (unbelievably!) staying on his feet for that upper cut he was dropped twice more before the referee stepped in and ended the fight with 38 seconds left in the eleventh round.
It definitely wasn’t the result most people had predicted. While the winner of this thing was a toss of a coin, the expected manner of victory was pretty common. For Joshua to win it was assumed he’d need to knock him out within the first eight rounds like every other fight in his professional resume. For Klitschko, if he took this thing the distance then he’d surely get the nod on points. Joshua going into the eleventh round and still finding it in him to pull that devastating round out of the bag… that was something else. Doubt that’s what Wladimir had saved on his USB stick.
But Klitschko didn’t look burned, despite the fears. He fought at a level that would destroy all but a couple of fighters on the planet. Looking back on his efforts he’ll probably regret taking his foot off the gas in those late-middle rounds where he had control and milked a few rounds but did so with quiet efficiency, allowing Joshua to regain his breath for the late onslaught. Perhaps he didn’t think such late-fight brutality was even possible. In the press conference at the weigh in, Klitschko was asked what defeat might mean for his career and he didn’t really give a proper answer. The question was clearly alluding towards retirement: if he lost here, would there be any coming back from that?
Actually, yeah. There is. Klitschko looks remarkably fit for his age and he’s lost none of that skill and technique that won him so many title defences. He may have missed out on two of his old belts here but the old champ was good. As for his power, if you can put Anthony Joshua on the floor then you have the power to trouble anybody.
Those ideas, and the fascinating fight itself, make the prospects of a rematch pretty high… so long as Klitschko’s keen on it. He wanted the rematch with Tyson Fury after his last fight so proud man that he is he’ll wanna lock that one in soon. Depends on whether his heart’s in it but all that talk about obsession suggests he’s as mentally focussed as he is physically.
Then again, nobody’s more physically primed than Anthony Joshua. He is the walking, talking Adonis himself. They said he carried too much muscle, that it’d only slow him down in the later rounds. They said he was susceptible, that he’d never taken a proper hit before. They said he was inexperienced and untested, that he’d never fought a real contender. All of those things were challenged against Wladimir Klitschko and disproven. Sure, future opponents will have taken a few things out of the bout, some weaknesses and vulnerabilities to target, but AJ just proved that he belongs. He did the business while the world was watching. Anthony Joshua is the real deal, baby.
Now we wait and see what’s next…
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