Roar Guru
England’s Anthony Joshua has retained his IBF World Heavyweight title fight in an epic bout against legendary Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium.
» Click here to read the full match report
It’s the young bull versus the old bull at Wembley Stadium when 27-year-old Englishman Anthony Joshua (18-0, 18KOs) defends his IBF World Heavyweight title against legendary 41-year-old Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko (64-4, 53KOs). Join The Roar for round-by-round updates and debate in our live blog from 6am AEST.
Both fighters were Olympic gold medal winners before turning pro, but their feats were sixteen years apart.
Klitschko won the super-heavyweight division in Atlanta in 1996, while Joshua did the same in London in 2012.
Unlike most heavyweight title fights, there’s been no trash talk in the build-up. Both fighters respect each other and are intelligent and articulate.
Bookmakers have Joshua ($1.40) as a heavy favourite, with Klitschko at $2.80.
Joshua has had a destructive rise through the ranks since turning pro, winning all his fights inside the distance.
He’s only fought a total of 44 rounds in his career, which averages less than three rounds per fight.
Klitschko hasn’t fought since November 2015 when he was upset by another Englishman, Tyson Fury (25-0, 18KOs) in Germany.
That unanimous points decision brought an end to Klitschko’s eleven and a half year domination of the heavyweight division.
A rematch was scheduled, but was then postponed and eventually cancelled due to Fury’s problems outside the ring.
Critics of Klitschko argue that he is dull and boring, both inside and outside the ring, and that he’s been the champion in an era when the heavyweight division hasn’t been strong.
But he’s always carried himself professionally, he’s fought every contender out there in his era and his ring work has proven to be clinically effective.
He’s also always in good physical shape, unlike many heavyweights (Anthony Joshua excluded).
Klitschko successfully defended a version of the world heavyweight title 23 times. That is second only to the great Joe Louis, who successfully defended his world heavyweight title 25 times between 1937 and 1948.
He typically uses his boxing skills (especially his jab) to break his opponents down before finishing them off.
Notable wins in Klitschko’s professional career have been over Chris Byrd (twice) and Alexander Povetkin.
At 41, if he can pull off the victory this weekend over Joshua, it will arguably go down as the biggest achievement of his stellar career.
You can view highlights of both fighters at the link below. Who is your tip?