This Klitschko fight has clear big-event feel
THE resurrection of heavyweight boxing will take place Saturday night when Anthony Joshua defends his heavyweight championship against former champion Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley Stadium in London.
A crowd of 90,000 is expected for what is being called the biggest boxing event in British history. It’s really the biggest heavyweight fight since Lennox Lewis held the crown in the post Holyfield-Tyson era.
Joshua, 27, is the young lion with 18 knockouts in 18 fights. The Englishman is a 2012 Gold medal winner at the London Games who won the IBF title in his 16th professional fight. A win over Klitschko would validate his reign as champion.
“I’m only going to be myself — the fight is already as big as it can be,” said Joshua, who will make the third defense of his IBF belt. “There are belts on the line, there’s legacy on the line, there’s 12 rounds of intense, ferocious boxing on the line. It comes with everything you want to see — boxing skills, power, timing. It’s just how long you can last and withstand each other’s abilities.”
Joshua’s IBF title and the vacant WBA belt will be at stake. They are two of the belts Klitschko, 41, held during his 11-year reign as champion. The Ukrainian (64-4, 54 KOs) is fighting for the first time since losing to Tyson Fury in November 2015.
In many ways, Klitschko needs the win over Joshua to put a bow on his era as the heavyweight champion. A boxer for 27 years, he was never in the kind of matchups and rivalries that would make him a more popular champion.
His list of conquests is hardly a Who’s Who, but he held the heavyweight crown with class, raising boxing’s profile in Europe while Americans claimed a lack of excitement and quality competition. Still, beating Joshua would make us look more favorably at Klitschko.
“I’m the challenger again,” he said. “I feel young, hungry, humble and totally obsessed with my goal to raise my hands again. “
But this may be Joshua’s time. He weighed in at 250 on Friday and has looked better each outing in the ring. Klitschko (240 ½ pounds) has competed in 28 world title fights and had the second-longest reign as a world champion in history. He will rely heavily on his experience, hoping to frustrate the young champion into a mistake.
“This is a big step for AJ,” Klitschko said. “He hasn’t fought this type of quality fighter yet. It’s going to be challenging for him, and it’s going to be challenging for me. This fight is 50-50, both fighters have a chance to win the fight, but I have this feeling that this is my night.”
Look for plenty of holding from Klitschko as he tries to tire Joshua. It should prove a successful tactic. By the middle rounds, Joshua will start to fatigue and leave himself open. The prediction here is that Klitschko will take advantage and win by knockout or TKO in the 10th round.
The alternative is that Klitschko is indeed at the end of a career that will look much more impressive in time.
“Either he has another fight in him, or this time he’s done,” Joshua said.
The youngster seems have a simple game plan.
“If he wants to grab, I can whip in a body shot and that would definitely slow him down,” Joshua said. “If you keep getting hit to the body at [age] 41, that will take the fight out of anyone. On the outside, I have got ways to deal with the majority of his shots. On the inside, I just have to keep on swinging to the body and round-by-round I’ll start seeing an effect.”
The fight has drawn enough interest that Showtime and HBO will televise the bout. Showtime, which is tied to Joshua, will have the live broadcast beginning with pre-fight coverage at 4:15 p.m. Eastern Time. HBO will offer a replay at 11 p.m.