Kuwait Times

Joshua stops Klitschko in 11th round of heavyweigh­t epic

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Anthony Joshua remained in the ring long after 90,000 of his supporters had filed out of Wembley Stadium, posing happily for pictures with his team and hugging just about everyone he knew. No reason to leave early when being the heavyweigh­t champion is so much fun. ”I just want to fight everyone, man,” Joshua said. “I’m really loving this right now.” There was a lot to love Saturday night in front of a packed crowd at England’s national stadium, where Joshua got off the canvas to stop longtime champion Wladimir Klitschko in a coming out party of sorts that electrifie­d the boxing world.

The biggest heavyweigh­t fight in British history was also the best. There was an epic fifth round where Joshua knocked Klitschko down and then held on himself to survive, along with a knockdown a round later by Klitschko. And when Joshua had finished almost taking Klitschko’s head off in the 11th round, a heavyweigh­t division moribund for years was suddenly very much alive once again.

Just five years removed from winning an Olympic gold medal in London, Joshua stopped a fighter who dominated the heavyweigh­t division for nearly a decade. Though the win came with some anxious moments for the hometown fans, it also establishe­d Joshua as a superstar in the making who just might be the fighter who can make boxing must-see TV once again.

MEGAFIGHT

“Anthony was better today than I,” Klitschko said. “It’s really sad that I didn’t make it tonight. I was planning to do it. It didn’t work. But all the respect to Anthony, congratula­tions.” A heavyweigh­t title fight unlike any seen in the country that invented boxing didn’t just end with the hometown favorite’s hand aloft in victory. It ended in such spectacula­r fashion that Joshua can now write his own ticket in a heavyweigh­t division long starved for star power.

That will at some point likely include a megafight with American Deontay Wilder, who owns a piece of the title and is a huge puncher himself. It could include a rematch with Klitschko, who had it written into his contract that he would have that right should he lose. And then there’s Tyson Fury, the British nomad who upset Klitschko in 2015 before being waylaid by mental and other issues. “Tyson Fury, where you’re at, baby? Is that what you want to see?” Joshua asked. “Come on, we’re here, man. I enjoy fighting. I love fighting. I want to give 90,000 people another chance to witness a lovely night of boxing.”

The possibilit­ies are tantalizin­g indeed, and so are the prospects for stardom for Joshua. Largely unknown outside Britain except by ardent boxing fans, he announced himself as the future of the division with a spectacula­r right hand that made Klitschko look like a very large bobblehead in the 11th round of a fight that until then was either man’s to win. His knockout power is unquestion­ed, and after Saturday night so is his heart. In only his 19th fight, he gained invaluable experience and even more confidence in his ability to dominate any heavyweigh­t in the ring.

‘I’M ONLY GOING TO IMPROVE’

The crowd at Wembley was drawn by all of that, and more. Joshua has the kind of charisma that fight promoters swoon over, and is so popular at home that the Sunday Times devoted the first full three pages of its sports section to his big win. “You can hear I’m a little bit emotional because I know I’ve got doubters that think I can’t do this and that, but I dig deep,” Joshua said. “As I said, if you don’t take part, you’re going to fail. Just give it a go and you never know the outcome.”

Wilder was at ringside to watch his new rival, as were former champions Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis. Wilder is also undefeated and a big puncher with a piece of the heavyweigh­t title himself, and the two would do huge box-office business if they got together in a megafight. First, though, Joshua must come to the US and expose himself to American boxing fans in at least one fight, possibly two. —AP

 ??  ?? LONDON: Britain’s Anthony Joshua (R) throws a punch at Ukraine’s Wladimir Klitschko during the fourth round of their IBF, IBO and WBA, world Heavyweigh­t title fight at Wembley Stadium. —AFP
LONDON: Britain’s Anthony Joshua (R) throws a punch at Ukraine’s Wladimir Klitschko during the fourth round of their IBF, IBO and WBA, world Heavyweigh­t title fight at Wembley Stadium. —AFP

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