JOSHUA GIVES HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION POWERFUL BOOST
Brit scores TKO over ex- champion Klitschko
It was deep into the night when Anthony Joshua unleashed his final flurry, with one crushing blow after another thudding into the head and body of Wladimir Klitschko, consummating what figures to be the passing of the guard in heavyweight boxing.
When referee David Fields spared Klitschko, for so long the tormentor of hopefuls and crusher of dreams in this, the most punishing division in the sport, Joshua simply leaned back and nodded.
Perhaps he was too exhausted to leap and yell, maybe he’s just too cool for all that, but either way he seemed to be surveying the work of an evening that played out in front of more than 90,000 screaming locals and a fight that captivated the old city all week. Then came the nod, and that seemed to signify one message. Job done.
Except it isn’t really, not by a long shot. More than any other fighter, it is the 27year- old Brit who has a chance to carry
boxing on his hulking shoulders, possessing the right blend of terrifying power and effortless charisma to take it out of the doldrums.
While Floyd Mayweather Jr. made more money than any other boxer and others have emerged, it is still the heavyweight division that carries the greatest gravitas in the fight game.
It is where the energy is at its most raw, where a single blow can change a contest, a career and history. It is a division that has stagnated for too long, a combination of a lack of viable superstars who could connect with a mainstream audience, a dearth of attentiongrabbing bouts and, possibly, Klitschko and his brother, Vitali, being simply too good to be exciting for most of their careers.
Joshua has the fistic force and the personality, a breath of fresh air for the sport and its cadre of big men. Now, with a legitimizing victory over one of the alltime greats, he has untold riches and possibilities at his feet.
If Joshua keeps winning, and keeps knocking people out, then it is his fights that will be boxing’s must- see events, whether they be in his homeland or bathed in Las Vegas neon. In truth, that is precisely what boxing needs, a go- to guy for action and drama, a genuine celebrity with the ability to back up the hype and the hunger to produce a big finish every time he enters the ring.
His prior 18 knockout wins were impressive, but this was a test far beyond any he had survived previously, his Olympic gold medal in 2012 included.
Klitschko is canny and technically outstanding but also fiercely courageous. When Joshua unleashed an assault and put him down in the fifth round, the giant Ukrainian — who went undefeated for nearly a decade before losing to Tyson Fury in 2015 — not only got up but went on to dominate the end of that round. In the next round it was his turn to score a knockdown, catching Joshua with a flush straight right and seeming to tilt momentum back his way.
Going into the 11th round, it was too close to call, but Joshua had no interest in leaving it in the judges’ hands when he could use his own to such devastating effect. He went after Klitschko from the opening seconds and tilted the course of the fight with a huge uppercut that set the former champion on his heels. As Joshua pounded away, Klitschko went down twice more, before Fields called an end to the proceedings, allowing Joshua to retain his IBF title and assert himself as the man to beat.
American fights are in Joshua’s future — he and his managerial team have said as much. But wherever his juggernaut takes him next, it will be worth watching. The heavyweights have a leading man with a sense of style again, boxing has a fresh star who is still improving and, for as long as it lasts, it’ll be one heck of a show.