JOSHUA TKOs KLITSCHKO, PRESERVES ORDER IN THE HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION
By Salvador Lopez
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 30 Apr 2017
British heavyweight star Anthony Joshua found his rythm just at the right time to defeat Wladimir Klitschko via an 11th round TKO. Joshua thus retained his IBF world heavyweight title while obtaining the IBO world heavyweight and WBA super-heavyweight titles. With the fight up for grabs after the 10th round, Joshua did exactly what Tony Bellew, the current WBC cruiserweight titleholder and himself a very colorful ringside commentator, said that Klitschko was ready to be taken and Joshua got his second wind and should take over the fight. Joshua opened the round with a big left hook to the head during a clinch. Shortly, a huge right uppercut buckled Klischko after which Joshua followed it up with a combination of hard punches to the head dropping the former to the canvas and it soon became apparent that the fight would be coming to an end. Another Joshua combination dropped the still wobbly Klitschko for the second time in the round. Klitschko once again courageously got back on his feet but Joshua soon went for the kill and catching Klitschko with another barrage of punches, there was no choice for referee David Fields but to stop the fight. Prior to the stoppage, Joshua was leading on two scorecards (96-93, 95-93) while trailing on the other (93-95).
The fight started as a chess match with Klitschko uncharacteristically proceeding aggressively and fighting on his toes. It was, however, Joshua who appeared to be taking the earlier rounds by connecting the more effective punches while Klitschko would occasionally throw his patented right straight. The action would heat up in the 5th round when Joshua scored the first knockdown of the fight with a combination to the head which also produced a cut on Klitschko?s cheek just below the left eye. After Joshua was pursuing his foe and scoring several telling blows, he appeared to have punched out himself and soon found himself in trouble toward the end of the round absorbing hard punches to the head and was lucky to survive the round. In the 6th round, Klitschko would return the complement when he dropped Joshua with that same patented right. The second half of the fight appeared to be going in Klitshko?s way as Joshua started fighting tentatively. Toward the championship rounds, Joshua would soon regain his composure while Klitschko showed signs of fatigue paving the way for an exciting finish.
With the win, Joshua not only proved his maturity as a heavyweight champion but preserved the order of the heavyweight division with the potential showdown against WBC heavyweight titleholder Deontay Wilder still intact. A loss by Joshua would have been a deviation to the script as what happened to Juan Manuel Lopez when he lost to Orlando Salido, thereby putting the anticipated money fight with Yuriorkis Gamboa in the garbage.
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