Joshua Stops Klitschko, Retains IBF Crown

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…Record 90,000 Fans On Watch At Wembley – 

As predicted by most boxing pundits, Nigerian-born British boxer, Anthony Joshua displayed dexterity and great composure to floor Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko in round 11 of one of the classic heavyweight bouts in history.

Performing a class act in front of a record 90,000 crowd at the Wembley Stadium, the IBF world champion, Joshua looked to have the edge in the first four rounds before scoring a knockdown in the fifth which brought the entire stadium to its feet.

But it was Klitschko, who actually finished the round strong enough to potentially cancel out the 10-8 score a knockdown usually brings, before dropping Joshua to the canvass in the sixth for the first time in his professional career.

In the next few rounds, it was gut check time for the Champion as Klitschko looked calm and in control. This turn of event signal that it would be a long night as the Ukrainian came on strongly, with many upbeat that he could re-enact one of his many successful defences during his decade-long reign ended by Tyson Fury in 2015.

However, not to be outsmarted, Joshua ably weathered the storm as the fight reached rounds he had never before experienced, and in the penultimate of the 12-round championship contest he unleashed a brutal ‘Hail Mary’ of an uppercut which led to ‘Dr. Steelhammer’ tasting the mat again.

This time, Joshua’s second wind was enough to stay on top of the tiring Klitschko and another knockdown followed before the referee pulled the triumphant Anthony off his beaten opponent to a deafening response from the Wembley crowd.

It was not just that the victory takes Joshua’s perfect record to 19-0 with 19 knockouts, and adds the WBA crown to his IBF belt, a full unification of the heavyweight division is now in sight as his next goal, though he said in his post-match interview that giving Tyson Fury the chance to regain the belts he never lost in the ring is quite tempting. (Yahoo Sport UK)

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