Joshua preps for bigger bout with TKO in 10th

Heavyweight champ handles replacement Takam to reach 20-0.

CARDIFF, Wales — Anthony Joshua was taken to the 10th round before stopping the durable Carlos Takam and retaining his World Boxing Assn. and International Boxing Federation heavyweight titles in front of an estimated 75,000 fans on Saturday.

The referee moved in to stop the fight after Joshua caught Takam with a hook uppercut combination and was moving in to land more blows. The Frenchman shook his head in disgust and many in the crowd jeered the decision.

At the end of an uncomfortable evening for Joshua, during which he might have broken his nose in a secondround clash of heads, the unbeaten British boxer earned a 20th straight win that likely set him up for a unification fight in 2018 with either World Boxing Organization champion Joseph Parker or World Boxing Council champion Deontay Wilder.

Takam was fighting at 12 days’ notice, as an injury replacement for Kubrat Pulev, and lived up to his reputation as a tough opponent, absorbing big shots by Joshua and making himself tough to hit with movement. Takam took an eight count in the fourth round after toppling from a left hook by Joshua, and fought on with a cut above his right eye that twice required treatment.

Joshua was fighting at the heaviest weight of his professional career, 254.8 pounds, and was taken beyond seven rounds for only the second time in his pro career. The other time was an 11-round fight against Wladimir Klitschko in April.

“I was trying to break him down round by round,” Joshua said. “Unfortunately, the ref stopped it. I think people want to see Takam unconscious on the floor. That was where I was trying to get to. I don’t have control over the ref ’s decision.”

Takam (35-4-1, 27 knockouts) was cheered by the crowd after the fight. “I don’t know why the referee stopped the match,” he said.

In other bouts: Kal Yafai (23-0, 14 KOs) of Britain defeated Sho Ishida (24-1) by unanimous decision to retain the WBA super-flyweight title. Katie Taylor (8-0) added a professional world title to the Olympic gold medal she won as an amateur by beating Anahi Sanchez (17-3) by unanimous decision to claim the WBA lightweight belt.