AJ’s ready for a Wilder night
It wasn’t pretty. And it certainly wasn’t easy.
Anthony Joshua entered Cardiff’s sold-out Principality Stadium to a cacophony of noise expected to deliver the goods yet again, with most bookies predicting a comfortable win for the 28-year-old superstar.
But AJ’s New Zealand opponent Joseph Parker proved a tougher pill to swallow than most gave him credit for, despite also being undefeated before Saturday night’s fight.
On a historic night for British boxing – the first time two world champions from the Heavyweight division had met to unify titles on these shores – unfortunately the referee broke up the rounds when they finally looked to catch fire.
Too many times Guiseppe Quartarone stepped in too quickly when the boxers got up close and personal, where Parker was going to have to make gains due to his shorter reach and AJ’s impressive power from longer range.
Even so Parker looked sharp in the opening rounds, with anyone predicting an early Joshua knockout quickly having to rethink.
It took until round six for the guards to finally come down and both started to swing more freely, with Joshua landing heavily before Parker managed to land a few shots of his own.
Joshua had never gone the distance before, and credit must be given to Parker for withstanding a strong left uppercut in round eight and two cracking left hooks in the tenth that meant the bout went to the scorecards for the first time in AJ’s career.
The result was never really in doubt though and the unanimous points win saw Joshua unify the WBA, IBF and WBO world heavyweight titles and stretch his record to 21 wins undefeated.
Despite not producing the same fireworks as his famous Wladimir Klitschko fight in London, the fact AJ proved he can go the distance is still a positive step in his so far flawless career.
With the Watford heavyweight now eyeing up Deontay Wilder, who holds the WBC belt Joshua now needs to complete the set, it may prove to be a vital learning curve for the boxer; to know he can go the distance if required.
He’s already proved he can come back from the brink during a bout when
He’s already proved he can come back from the brink