GREAT BRITS!
Cool Ant puts thinking cap on
Joshua & Hamilton titles
ANTHONY JOSHUA said before this fight he had completed his boxing apprenticeship.
But this was evidence that he is still learning his trade, and that is no bad thing as he bids to become the first man to hold all four world heavyweight crowns.
The IBF and WBA champion defended his titles with a 10th-round stoppage of Carlos Takam.
It was tougher and more bloody than most expected it to be in Cardiff but, as former heavyweight king Lennox Lewis explained, it was a fight Joshua needed.
This was the Watford-born fighter’s 20th professional contest and only the second time he has been beyond seven rounds – he is still maturing after what was his fifth championship bout.
There were lessons learnt from his epic battle against Wladimir Klitschko when he almost blew himself out in the dramatic fifth round that saw the Ukrainian on the floor. Joshua did not rush in for the stoppage when the brave Frenchman was hurt, nor did he lose his cool when a headbutt in the second round brought blood from his nose and made breathing difficult throughout.
This may have been less dramatic and less impressive than the Klitschko classic in April, but it was more composed. This time there were more brains than brawn, even if it was not perfect.
Composed
“This was a fight I needed,” said the London 2012 Olympic gold medallist. “Because of the headbutt, his toughness, his durability.
“There were times when he was hurt when I thought, ‘I’m going to pounce on this guy’ – but I just thought about how I made that mistake in round five against Klitschko and I didn’t make it again in round 11. I thought I’d be more composed and wait and be patient. Even if it takes me another five rounds or six rounds, we’ll get there. I knew we would get there in the end.
“That’s why Lennox says I need a fight like that, because even though it wasn’t a bang, bang, bang four-round job, it was a thinking man’s fight.
“Even though he wasn’t throwing a million punches back, those type of fighters are just waiting – like Joe Frazier – waiting. They wait for one mistake.”
Joshua finally got the stoppage in the 10th round yet there was still a feeling of frustration when it came.
Referee Phil Edwards stepped in slightly too soon but, in a sport as dangerous as this with an 18st 2lb man loading up on shots, it was not an unforgiveable move.
Takam protested but the blood from the cuts over both eyes had not only covered his swollen face but also his opponent’s white kit, while he had also been down in the fourth and had lost eight of the nine completed rounds. Joshua wanted a cleaner
stoppage but the result was inevitable.
Yet the finish brought boos from the 78,000-strong crowd inside the Principality Stadium, the home of Welsh rugby that had been transformed into a stunning boxing venue for the night.
Irritant
The crowd was not turning on their hero, it was just they wanted to see more.
They had arrived expecting to see a man that most of them had never heard of until he replaced the injured Kubrat Pulev on 12 days’ notice be put flat on his back, rather than a referee showing mercy.
The frustration comes from the expectation now resting on the shoulders of one of Britain’s biggest sports stars. Joshua admitted he felt it, with everyone talking about what would come next, rather than the challenge in front of him.
Takam was seen as an irritant and not an obstacle in the way of unification clashes with WBC title holder Deontay Wilder and WBO champion Joseph Parker in 2018.
“It’s a lot going on, a lot of changes,” Joshua added.
“Everyone was focusing on 2018 and I’m just like, ‘S**t, I’ve got to win this fight’.
“Everyone is saying how 2018 will be great and I’ve got this geezer in front of me right now that could shatter dreams. There is a lot of expectation on me.”
That expectation will only continue to grow but Joshua will be better for this night, even if it will not be remembered as one of his best, and will draw on this experience should those unification fights come next year.