The best punch trackers on the market
29th April 2021
By: BOXING GURU
On this day in 2017, boxing fans were treated to a modern day heavyweight classic, one that promised much and delivered more. Anthony Joshua, the IBF world champion had only 18 professional fights to his name and was defending his title against Wladimir Klitschko who himself, had previously been heavyweight champion for nearly a decade. The fight took 90,000 fans on a roller coaster of a ride inside Wembley Stadium which became deserved winner of Ring Magazine and ESPN Fight of the Year. Watch and enjoy the full fight below…
The fight began with a cautious approach from both men, neither taking unnecessary risks, the Ukrainian attempting to hold the centre of the ring and Joshua poised to counter. In the 3rd, AJ stepped up the aggression, landing several combinations which backed Klitschko up and the home fans began to gain confidence. Klitschko though, had other ideas and came out of the blocks quickly in the 4th, landing a couple of right hands which seemed to momentarily stun the Brit and perhaps give the veteran his first round of the fight.
Joshua learned from the 4th and took the fight to Klitschko from the sound of the bell, scoring the first knockdown of the fight inside 30 seconds. Despite this, it looked as though the Watford man had expelled too much energy and was unable to pin down the bouncy Ukrainian who was using all his experience to recover. Breathing heavily, Joshua left himself open and was caught with some clever left hooks – now AJ was in real trouble with a minute left of this astonishing 5th round. With Joshua out on his feet against the ropes, Klitschko continued to catch him but couldn’t find the finishing blow and ran out of time, giving the home boxer a 10-8 round.
With the undefeated champion still unsteady, Klitschko capitalised in the 6th landing his signature right hand which sent the Brit down to the canvas for the first time in the paid ranks. Although composed, ‘Doctor Steelhammer’ again failed to land that crucial blow and close the show, which proved to be costly. Wladimir’s brother and cornerman Vitali, believed the muscle bound Joshua would slow down significantly and struggle in the later rounds and so advised his brother to take his time rather than put his foot down and finish the fight. This was against the wishes of trainer Johnathon Banks who wanted Wladimir to put his foot on the gas and go for the win.
Joshua took a couple of rounds to weather the storm and regain his composure, reducing his punch output and saving his energy. The 9th and 10th produced fairly even rounds but with the scorecards close, many felt Joshua needed to produce something. That something arrived in the 11th, much like in the 5th, Joshua came out fast, landing a flush uppercut which dazed Klitschko. Joshua pounced sending him down for the 2nd time. Bravely beating the count, Joshua quickly smothered him and sent him the canvas again. Somehow, the Ukrainian managed to get to his feet but Joshua was not going to left him off the hook and forced the referee to step in and stop the fight.
Joshua unified his IBF title with the vacant WBA and IBO belts whilst Klitschko retired but this epic heavyweight battle will remembered for a long time and is worth of being mentioned in the same breath as those historic heavyweight classics of the past.
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Photograph – Esther Lin