Very clever of Anthony to change style. . . and Povetkin fell in his trap

IT WILL be a huge pity if we don’t recognise the scale of what Anthony Joshua achieved on Saturday night. He dismantled one of the toughest guys in the sport, a guy who had never been stopped before and is justifiably regarded as the No 3 heavyweight in the world. I feared the worst the way the fight started. I said in Saturday’s Sportsmail that Povetkin would rush out, but I expected Joshua to withstand the initial onslaught better. Povetkin was on point. He was Mike Tyson-esque, head down, fast, explosive, a heavyweight at the peak of his powers and he came into the ring to finish business. There were whispers that Joshua was feeling under the weather and that looked to be the case as it unravelled. A few have said the nature of such a long ring walk leaves him cold but I believe he thrives on that atmosphere, of 80,000 people jumping, shouting for him. The key was Joshua changed his style. He hasn’t boxed liked that before. He dropped his height, almost stooping and creeping forward to give Povetkin a different-shaped target to consider and dropped his hands, jabbing to the body. The problem was, as Joshua got accustomed to the change, Povetkin took the initiative. I said to my co-commentator Matthew Macklin ‘I don’t like the look of this’ and he said the same. Ultimately, though, it proved a clever tactic. You see, when you get hit, the instinct is to follow it back. Povetkin would hit Joshua expecting to draw out his jab in response, then hit under it. Instead, Joshua restrained himself and targeted the jab to the body, to bring Povetkin’s guard down. As he said, he knew Povetkin could take blows to the head but not the body. Eventually it was Povetkin who fell into his trap and, as he dropped his hands, Joshua found his mark with a right. You have to give him immense credit. He’s not had long in this game but he has learned everything except how to handle defeat and I don’t see that coming soon, so long as he stays mentally strong. I can see Joshua beating Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte. With boxing politics and the nature of negotiations, I believe Whyte is the most realistic next opponent on April 13. Joshua is the No 1 heavyweight, the big draw, it’s just Wilder and Fury don’t realise that when it comes to talking money. Fury is the one who could prove the most difficult but he’d have to improve on what he is at the moment and on that basis I don’t see him beating Wilder in December. Fury is the fighter you can’t really train for because he is so unpredictable. You just don’t know what’s going to come out and that’s what makes him all the more dangerous. Joshua’s greatest opponent, though, could be himself. He looked tired ahead of this fight. The 10 weeks in camp killed him, he’d had enough. He needs to go away, rest, get some normality back but, importantly, stay gym-fit. There is a real danger he’ll want to blow out the way Naseem Hamed used to, but this is a crucial stage for his legacy and he doesn’t want to be fluctuating massively in weight. Everyone wants him as a prize. Not just Wilder, Fury and Whyte, there will be an unknown out there following his every move, plotting how they can become the next heavyweight champion of the world. He’s the man everyone aspires to beat. That brings pressure and demands a unique mental toughness. He’s got it all, yet he’s got it all to lose.