They fought a close and cautious first four rounds. In the fifth, Joshua came out and barraged Klitschko to the canvas. Klitschko rose up and dominated Joshua for the remainder of the round, battering him and scoring his own knockdown in round 6. The next few rounds were again cautious, both men wary of each other, until a reinvigorated Joshua attacked Klitschko in round 11, sending him to the canvas. Klitschko again rose but Joshua knocked him down for a second time in the round, then sent a barrage of punches while Klitschko was against the ropes that made the referee stop the fight.
At the time of stoppage, Joshua was ahead on two judges scorecards 96–93 and 95–93, and the third judge had Klitschko ahead 95–93. CompuBox stats showed that Joshua landed 107 of his 355 punches thrown (30%), and Klitschko landed 94 of 256 (37%). Joshua called out Tyson Fury in the post fight interview, “Tyson Fury, where you at, baby? Come on — that’s what they want to see. I just want to fight everyone. I’m really enjoying this right now.”
He took victory in the 10th round despite breaking his nose in an accidental clash of heads in the second round.
“He beat one of the best heavyweights of all time, who was in great shape. Klitschko was a great fighter who had been champion for 10 years.
“AJ went to the trenches. He came through it well. It was one of the best heavyweight title fights I’ve seen in a long time.
“What he’s done is unbelievable so far. He’s up there with the best. He’s going to keep improving.”
From Watford schoolboy to world champion – but Joshua only took up boxing at the age of 18 (1/5)Spent some of his early years in Nigeria before returning to Watford, where he was a footballer and athlete at school but had a habit of getting into trouble until he concentrated on boxing.
He turned professional a year later and is undefeated in all 20 fights as a pro.
Joshua has won all those bouts inside the distance and hopes to add more belts to his collection in 2018.
What he said: “I’m serious about becoming undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.”
Tahir Ahmed: Has to be Anthony Joshua – for being not only a world champion but an inspiration to youngsters.
Stephen Davies: BBC Sports Personality of the Year has got to go to Anthony Joshua. Becoming heavyweight champion in what might have been fight of the decade sealed it for me.
Sherif Kader: It’s @anthonyfjoshua for me – what a career this humble guy is having.
Joshua was born in Watford to a Nigerian mother Yeta Odusanya and a British father Robert of Nigerian descent. Specifically, he is of Yoruba ethnicity. His cousin is fellow unbeaten professional boxer Ben lleyemi. The pair made their professional debuts together in 2013.
Joshua grew up for some of his early years in Nigeria and returned to the UK halfway through Year Seven to join Kings Langley Secondary School. Growing up on the Meriden Estate in Garston, Hertfordshire, Joshua was called ‘Femi’ by his friends and former teachers, due to his middle name ‘Oluwafemi’. He excelled at football and athletics and broke the Year Nine 100m record with a time of 11.6 seconds.
A late starter in the sport, Joshua only began boxing in 2007, aged 18, when his cousin suggested he take it up. His club, Finchley ABC in Barnet, North London, is also home to professional heavyweight Dereck Chisora. Joshua won the 2009 and 2010 Haringey Box Cup. Joshua won the senior ABA Championships in 2010, in only his 18th bout, and later turned down “£50,000.00” to turn professional. “Turning down that “£50,000.00″ was easy. I didn’t take up the sport for money, I want to win medals.” He also went on to win the same tournament the following year.
“Joshua had an amateur record of 40-3”.
During the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, Joshua marked his sudden arrival on the world scene when he beat Italian reigning World & Olympic champion Roberto Cammarelle, and went on to stop Erik Pfeifer of Germany in the semis before losing by a single point to local boxer, Magomedrasul Majidov winning a silver medal. En route to the final, Joshua secured his place at the 2012 Olympic Games in the 91 kg+ division as a relative new-comer to the elite level of the sport.
It was reported that Joseph Parker‘s team were looking at Lucas Browne as a potential match-up if they failed to land a unification fight with Joshua. According to Higgins, a date in March 2018 was being discussed with Joshua’s team, however Eddie Hearn offered an 80-20 split, which would favor Joshua. Higgins spoke toFairfax Media, saying the offer would need to be more reasonable, also taking into consideration the fight would take place in the UK. Other names discussed for a Summer 2018 fight included Bryant Jennings and Alexander Povetkin. According to a Tweet from Parker on 15 November, he was offered less than half of what was paid to Charles Martin when he defended his IBF title against Joshua. The next day, Higgins told Fairfax Media that he and Hearn were still talking around a deal that would benefit all parties. Parker stated he was willing to drop to 35% of the net profit. Higgins made a final offer to Hearn on 22 November. He told Sky Sports, “It’s our final bottom line decision. We feel anything less is disrespectful or a disgrace.” On 29 November, Hearn stated the fight could be confirmed within two weeks. Higgins listed Camp Nou as the potential venue. According to Hearn on 11 December, a deal was very close to being announced with the Principality Stadium a frontrunner to host the fight. Hearn jokingly said they were over-paying Parker, with the deal being 65-35.
