THE 20- 0 MILESTONE
Anthony Joshua secures his 20th straight inside-schedule win against the brave Carlos Takam
‘IMAGINE WATER MELONS BEING CANNONED INTO A WALL’
AT some point between leaving the ring at Wembley Stadium six months ago and stepping between the ropes in Cardiff
on Saturday night, Anthony Joshua became a superhero. That courageous April mission, when he peeled himself off the canvas to end the career of Wladimir Klitschko, elevated the humble Englishman from promising fighter to indestructible warrior. But the hype, wholly understandable given how many joined him on his glorious warpath, soared beyond reality. Not only was Joshua The Destroyer already being hailed as a heavyweight legend, AJ The Celebrity suddenly became more famous than the sport that had created him.
What followed was always likely to disappoint.
And so it proved, to an extent at least, as Joshua defeated a plucky and bloody Carlos Takam in the 10th round inside a roofed-up Principality Stadium, when referee Phil Edwards decided to step in just as Takam was trying to fight back. The timing wasn’t ideal but the official’s decision shouldn’t be criticised too severely. Joshua had been unloading on the Frenchman for most of the fight, and while it wasn’t the kind of sustained hammering that leaves onlookers begging for a slaughter to stop, the sound of Joshua’s gloved fists smashing into Takam’s 36-year-old skull – imagine water melons being cannoned into a brick wall – had become all too familiar for those close enough to hear it.
It wasn’t just the stoppage that was responsible for the anti-climactic feeling. The whole point of staging the contest in Cardiff was because the 80,000-seater stadium could recreate the feel of Wembley and – more importantly – cater for the huge demand. But with the heady days of summer gone (as opposed to that delightful April feeling when they’re just upon us) and the roof sheltering the crowds from the miserable weather outside, this felt altogether different from the start. Joshua events these days generate electric anticipation but even that was affected here as the big screens and sound systems failed just as the champion made his way to the ring. While the atmosphere still enlivened, Joshua walking to his castle in darkness, as his perplexed fans tried to locate him, unquestionably dampened the euphoria.
Nothing particularly bad was
happening, but it just somehow didn’t feel… right.
Which is how many people felt about the challenger. Takam, despite being the IBF’S leading available contender after stepping in for the injured Kubrat Pulev on 12 days’ notice, was a perfectly acceptable opponent, but crucially for anyone hoping to see Joshua truly fly again, he didn’t have the powers of Klitschko. That rivalry sold itself and the consequences of it effectively sold this one too. Trouble was, hardly anyone in attendance knew who Takam was. Even in the days leading up to the fight, as Joshua spent many hours fielding questions about his most famous triumph, one wondered how much time he could have feasibly spent focusing on the specifics of the task at hand.
Although Joshua got to know Takam a bit better during an impossibly awkward weigh-in that saw the pair engage in a bizarre game of what we can now call ‘Arm Wrestle My Handshake’ – where the contestants remove their shirts, lock eyes and hold hands until one decides to let go – the opening round was a feel out process for both competitors.
Things heated up in the second session. Takam’s bald head clattered into Joshua’s nose and the champion immediately realised he’d never felt anything like it. Dabbing at the impact zone and checking his gloves for blood, Joshua suddenly realised his pre-fight quips about Takam being made of concrete were acutely observed.
By the fourth, Joshua was in total control. Takam thumped his own head to gee himself up, only for Joshua to cruelly mimic him and then slam home his left and right. The challenger, struggling
to avoid anything Joshua was throwing, wobbled for the first time. A horror cut opened above Takam’s right eye before a booming uppercut and left hand sent Takam to the mat. He didn’t appear to be hurt but the finish looked close. At the end of the session, doctors considered calling the bout off as a result of the wound on Takam’s face.
The pain increased for the whopping underdog in the fifth and sixth as Joshua opted to stay in close, shipping the occasional shot but landing far more of his own. Already, the horrible splatting sound of the punches was illustrating the damage they were doing to Takam, even if the fighter himself chose to walk through them for as long as his legs would allow.
All credit to Carlos for that. Plenty would have decided enough was enough under such hurtful fire, but he continued to pursue, rarely allowing Joshua full leverage while hoping to find the punch of a lifetime. Amazingly, in a nod to the astonishingly strong will of the prizefighter, his best period of the contest was still to come.
After swallowing another Joshua right hand whole in the seventh, Takam bullishly moved forward and flung a left hand that made the favourite trip over his own feet before steadying them and walloping the onrushing lunatic with a savage right. Takam, his eye now a complete mess, walked back to his corner with a curious look of optimism.
Through the eighth and ninth, Takam’s good feeling was waning but he received a lift of sorts when ringside doctors decided not to end his night due to his peeled eyebrow. Takam took another blow, yet refused to fall and didn’t look like doing so. Joshua seemed to ease off – perhaps aware he could no longer budge his rival, perhaps tired – and turned his attacks to the body. As the contest entered the 10th, it looked like Joshua would be forced to go the distance for the first time in his career.
One minute and 34 seconds later, it was all over. A right rocketed into Takam, causing his knees to dip, before another loudly splashed off the leaking target. The bloody Takam was taking too many and, perhaps at this point, Edwards decided enough was enough. But by the time he manged to get between the two fighters, the soon-to-be loser was dipping beneath the onslaught and preparing to retaliate. Ultimately Takam was a million miles away from victory however, and while he may have ‘deserved’ to survive, it’s likely the punishment already sucked up will be of no benefit to his future. For now, he should be rightly proud of his brave showing.
Joshua, too, can call it a good night’s work against one of the division’s toughest customers. Many were quick to criticise a performance that failed to electrify, but such expectation is unrealistic for a fighter who has engaged in 20 professional bouts. Forget the comparisons with Lennox Lewis for now, Joshua himself is the best barometer and, look closely, the 28-year-old continues to improve. There were times he exhibited patience that wasn’t there against Klitschko and a wiser shot selection process too, though the sense of invincibility that triumph has instilled should be tempered as he moves forward.
That future could include Dillian Whyte, but while Joshua continues to enhance his skills, his bitter rival is struggling to progress. He scored a lopsided yet absolutely mind-numbing 12-round unanimous victory over a criminally unwilling Robert Helenius. The Finland star simply came to survive, but Whyte’s failure to alter his game plan during 12 rounds should raise questions about his ability to thrive in a Joshua sequel or a projected shot at Deontay Wilder. While it’s true that the WBC champion is proving a tough nut to crack at the negotiating table, the fact the popular English contender is yet to prove he truly deserves a shot – that famous moment he had Joshua in trouble in 2015 remains the highlight of his career – should also be considered.
Whyte started promisingly enough, but his desperation to land his big right hand (which on more than one occasion missed by so much he span almost completely around) as Helenius merely skedaddled around the ring ultimately hindered his chances of scoring the stoppage. Each round was almost exactly the same, and at the end he won via scores of 119-109 (twice) and 118-110.
‘FORGET THE COMPARISONS WITH LENNOX LEWIS FOR NOW’
Victor Loughlin was the referee.
Kal Yafai was also the victim of an opponent unwilling to engage, yet he was far too good for Japan’s Sho Ishida, winning via scores of 116-112 (twice) and 118-110, and defending his WBA super-flyweight title for the second time in the process.
The Birmingham fighter exhibited his superiority throughout the Howard Foster-officiated contest, zipping inside and firing three and fours as Ishida – with barely a shred of meat on him – focused on throwing single shots while remaining cautious.
In the final session, the challenger came to life but by then his cause was lost. As Yafai celebrated at the final bell, a member of Ishida’s corner lifted his man onto his shoulders only for the fighter to almost fall straight off such was his shock at being hoisted high.
Thankfully, Katie Taylor’s victory over Anahi Esther Sanchez was a belter. After 10 fast-paced two-minute rounds, Taylor claimed the WBA lightweight belt – her first professional world title – that had been forfeited when Sanchez came in a pound overweight the day before.
Taylor started fast, a beautiful left hand to the body dropped Sanchez in the opening round before a frenzied followup assault almost ended matters. In the second and third sessions, Bray’s Taylor had success again, before a sizzling right hand rocked Sanchez, who responded when she caught her onrushing foe with a counter right. Sanchez showed flashes of class and Taylor of over exuberance, but it was the latter who was firmly in charge as the business end of the bout approached. A left hook caused Sanchez to blink in pain in the final session, and Taylor, after a bruising encounter, won via three scores of 99-90.
Enfield’s Frank Buglioni turned back the spirited challenge of seven-day substitute Craig Richards over 12, as tallies of 117-110 (twice) and 116-113 confirmed he kept his British lightheavyweight title. Buglioni was a big favourite over his 10-fight opponent and former sparring partner, and early on, as he positioned Richards and clumped him with his impressive right hand, a stoppage looked likely.
But Crystal Palace’s Richards always battled back at the right time and played his part in a decent scrap. The sixth was the best round as both exchanged, but by the eighth and ninth Buglioni again threatened a stoppage as he dislodged much of Richard’s hair from its pony tail.
The remainder of the card saw three of Matchroom’s brightest prospects showcased. The rapidly improving Londonder Lawrence Okolie measured the overmatched Adam Williams during the opening two rounds before landing a perfect left hook in the third.
The Manchester fighter’s corner threw the towel in, and the bout was called off.
Joshua Buatsi was given a solid workout by Frenchman Saidou Sall, winning 60-54. Buatsi was tagged at times, but his excellent uppercut dominated the highlight reels before he scored a knockdown in the closing moments to cement his superiority.
Cardiff ’s Joe Cordina won every moment of his four-rounder with Spain’s
Lesther Cantillano, dropping his man in the second and claiming a 40-35 triumph.
THE VERDICT Just what Joshua needed – he will learn plenty from the brave Takam.