If Wladimir Klitschko was in his prime, could he beat Anthony Joshua?
In his first fight since the loss, Klitschko showed he still has something left and Joshua, Klitschko's former sparring partner, passed his sternest test.
Rafael's remarks: For a change, a big fight more than lived up to the hype as Joshua and Klitschko gave us one of the most memorable heavyweight title fights in history. The fight of the year candidate had everything -- two-way action, knockdowns, blood and plenty of drama -- all set to the spectacular backdrop of Wembley Stadium filled with 90,000 fans, the British boxing record, for one of the great fight atmospheres ever. They came mostly to cheer on Joshua, 27, of England, who was making his third title defense but taking on by far his best opponent in Ukraine's Klitschko, the 41-year-old legend who was champion for 9½ years during a historic reign before losing the title to Tyson Fury 17 months ago.
The first four rounds were good but it went to another level in the fifth round when Joshua put his punches together for a knockdown but then was reeling by the end of the round as Klitschko took command. Then he dropped Joshua in the sixth round with a perfect right hand. He had Joshua in terrible trouble and had taken over the fight before Joshua came back late in the fight and dropped Klitschko twice more in the 11th and then teed off on him along the ropes until referee David Fields stopped it at 2 minutes, 25 seconds. There might be a rematch -- Klitschko has the contractual right -- but for now enjoy this one. Big fights get no better.
Scorecard: Joshua gets up from canvas to KO Klitschko
Anthony Joshua TKO11 Wladimir Klitschko --
Retains a heavyweight title, wins a vacant title
Records: Joshua (19-0, 19 KOs); Klitschko (64-5, 54 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Fighting in his hometown, Pulev, 35, won his fifth fight in a row since suffering a gargantuan fifth-round knockout loss to then-heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in the 2014 knockout of the year. Pulev, who looms as one of the mandatory challengers for unified titleholder Anthony Joshua, rolled past Johnson, a 37-year-old journeyman from Asbury Park, New Jersey, in a fight in which Johnson had a bit of success early but was not winning any rounds. Later in the fight, Johnson planted himself on the ropes and barely moved or threw punches while Pulev landed shots and won easily. Johnson, who lost a one-sided decision to then-world titleholder Vitali Klitschko in 2009, dropped to 2-7 in his last nine.
As I said during the fight, particularly round 5, a veteran fighter gave reigns to a novice one, since Joshua was wobbling the moment he was knocked down by Klitschko, something which led to the dramatic defeat of a boxing legend. Joshua gassed out following the knockdown but Klitschko did not seize the golden chance to follow on and was very slow in doing so. A fraction of a second makes the big difference in boxing between victory and setback!
Povetkin matsattu
...videoinnin laatu on kyllä alle kaiken arvostelun
sensijaan helenius vs kownachi koko matsi you tubessa nyt nähtävillä, todellakin katsomisen arvoinen
vieläkin robert oli vastustajaansa heikommassa fyysisessä kunnossa
...joten samalta viivalta kuntopuolella jos seuraavissa matseissaan lähtee, häviää vain johonkin tekemäänsä yksittäiseen virheeseen (knock-out)
muuten voittaa tiukassakin matsissa pisteillä
vaikein silloinkin voisi olla tyson fury, jos samassa kunnossa kuin wilderiä vastaan heidän kakkosmatsissaan
mielenkiinnolla odotetaan robben seuraavan vastustajan nimeä
...robbelle olisi riski hyväksyä joku muu kuin huippu koska häviöllä menettäisi mahdollisuuden todella rahakkaaseen otteluun.
Joshua vs. Klitschko fight card: Full list of undercard bouts
Anthony Joshua was a 1/4 (-400) favorite going into the contest, while Wladimir Klitschko made his way into the ring at 5/2 (+250) with oddsmakers.
Joshua beat Klitschko in front of a mega 90,000 at Wembley Stadium
Going into this contest, Anthony Joshua had last fought 4 months and 19 days ago, while Wladimir Klitschko's last outing had been 1 year, 5 months and 1 day ago.
Anthony Joshua vs Wladimir Klitschko Special Preview Boxing Show
90,000 crazed fans will fill Wembley Stadium to root on their countryman Anthony Joshua in his quest to take the boxing world by the balls. Standing in his way is the former kingpin of the heavyweight division Wladimir Klitschko. It’s a classic tale of youth versus experience in a vintage match that could tilt the balance to the next generation.
INSIGHT Wladimir Klitschko: I Totally Get Anthony Joshua
In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Tyson Fury on November 28, 2015, by unanimous decision in their WBA Super World Heavyweight, IBF World Heavyweight, WBO World Heavyweight and The Ring Heavyweight championship fight at ESPRIT arena, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Anthony Joshua vs Wladimir Klitschko: 18 fights, 18 KOs..
If Joshua wins, especially convincingly a new era will be ushered in not just in the division but a new star will be born the world over. A Klitschko victory heightens his long-term legacy and at the same time cheapens the rest of the division to an extent moving forward besides Tyson Fury.
Anthony Joshua beats Wladimir Klitschko by KO
Just how much does Wladimir Klitschko have left in the tank facing a primed athletic fighter? Hopefully for his sake more than what was on display back in late November 2015 in a lopsided defeat to Tyson Fury. To pile on a foothill of reasons why the Ukrainian native is the betting underdog, is the old saying of father-time remaining unbeaten. If that’s the case, Saturday the dreaded father-time could feast on an aged man returning from his longest stretch of inactivity.