England’s Anthony Joshua has retained his IBF World Heavyweight title in an epic bout against legendary Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium.
It was a case of youth eventually triumphing over experience, but not without the old bull, 41-year-old Klitschko, giving the young bull, 27-year-old Joshua, a massive scare.
The first four rounds were fairly even, with both fighters showing each other respect. As expected, Klitschko was using his boxing skills to keep the normally aggressive Joshua at bay.
The bout then exploded in the 5th with Joshua dropping Klitschko early and opening up a cut over his right eye. Klitschko somehow managed to compose himself and came back strongly later in a wild round to almost put Joshua down himself.
The sixth was another incredible round, with Klitschko dropping Joshua with a heavy right hand early. He then dominated the rest of the round, with Joshua doing well to survive.
After the drama of the 5th and 6th, the fight then settled back into a close boxing match for the next four rounds, with honours fairly even.
Entering the 11th, it looked like Klitschko may have had the fitness and boxing skill to pull off an incredible upset. But Joshua had other ideas. He came out aggressively and dropped Klitschko early, landing a massive uppercut followed by a left hook. Klitschko regained his feet on wobbly legs, but he was on the canvas again within seconds after taking a four punch combination.
Klitschko bravely got to his feet again, but Joshua then went in for the kill. He unloaded a barrage of punches on the Ukrainian as he slumped against the ropes. The referee called a halt to give Joshua the TKO.
Joshua retains his title and remains undefeated, stretching his record to 19-0 (all inside the distance). But Klitschko lost no fans tonight, almost pulling off an incredible upset. His record is now 64-5, and at 41 years of age, it may be the last time we see him in the ring. If it is, he’s had an incredible career and can go out with his head held high after a great performance against a much younger man.
This was a world heavyweight title fight that lived up to the hype.
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