If Wladimir Klitschko was in his prime, could he beat Anthony Joshua?
If Joshua wins, especially convincingly a new era will be ushered in not just in the division but a new star will be born the world over. A Klitschko victory heightens his long-term legacy and at the same time cheapens the rest of the division to an extent moving forward besides Tyson Fury.
90,000 crazed fans will fill Wembley Stadium to root on their countryman Anthony Joshua in his quest to take the boxing world by the balls. Standing in his way is the former kingpin of the heavyweight division Wladimir Klitschko. It’s a classic tale of youth versus experience in a vintage match that could tilt the balance to the next generation.
Just how much does Wladimir Klitschko have left in the tank facing a primed athletic fighter? Hopefully for his sake more than what was on display back in late November 2015 in a lopsided defeat to Tyson Fury. To pile on a foothill of reasons why the Ukrainian native is the betting underdog, is the old saying of father-time remaining unbeaten. If that’s the case, Saturday the dreaded father-time could feast on an aged man returning from his longest stretch of inactivity.
Scorecard: Joshua gets up from canvas to KO Klitschko
Will Anthony Joshua take his seat at the table or end up on the menu? The boy who grew up some ten minutes away from Wembley Stadium gets to prove if he’s a full grown man on the highest level. Joshua looks every bit the part of an athletic power-puncher mixed with solid technique. The only time AJ has faced the slightest bit of adversity as a pro was in the second round of entertaining bout with Dillian Whyte. Joshua let their personal rivalry dating back to the amateurs affect him getting rocked with a punch that had the big man buzzed. Since that moment the 2012 gold medalist from Great Britain has taken a more patient approach. Surely he will be focused and conservative in route to closing the distance on Klitschko.
Joshua was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 50 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2013, 16 years and 10 months later than Klitschko, whose first professional fight was in 1996. He had fought 202 fewer professional rounds, totaling 167 compared to Klitschko's 369.
The fight's cumulative worldwide audience is estimated to be 500 million viewers. In the United Kingdom, the fight set a domestic record, with 1.532million buys, exceeding the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight. At a viewing price of £20 ($26), the Joshua–Klitschko fight grossed approximately £31million ($40million) in pay-per-view revenue. In total, the fight generated an estimated £50million () in revenue from all sources, including live gate, pay-per-view, and overseas broadcasting.
Lack of reflexes due to age combined with a long layoff will retire Dr. Steelhammer but his ability to land and clinch will keep him upright or at least on his feet after 12 rounds. The thought of Wlad down on the all scorecards in the Tyson Fury fight and not showing any real desperation is troubling. Then again Joshua hasn’t gone past the 7th round and with all those muscles he’s bound to get gassed. This podcaster is banking on Anthony Joshua finding his second win after early problems.
Joshua vs. Klitschko fight card: Full list of undercard bouts
The domestic television rights to the fight were held by , while radio rights were held by . In the United States, as rights to Joshua and Klitschko's fights have historically been held by the two networks respectively, an arrangement was made for both and to hold rights to this fight. In a contrast to , which was broadcast via a PPV jointly produced by both networks, HBO and Showtime produced their own separate telecasts as part of their respective and brands, and Showtime beat HBO for exclusive rights to broadcast the fight live in the U.S. (where it occurred in the afternoon hours in the ). Likewise, HBO broadcast the bout on later in the night.
Joshua beat Klitschko in front of a mega 90,000 at Wembley Stadium
Going into this contest, Anthony Joshua had last fought 4 months and 19 days ago, while Wladimir Klitschko's last outing had been 1 year, 5 months and 1 day ago.
Anthony Joshua vs Wladimir Klitschko Special Preview Boxing Show
Anthony Joshua was a 1/4 (-400) favorite going into the contest, while Wladimir Klitschko made his way into the ring at 5/2 (+250) with oddsmakers.
INSIGHT Wladimir Klitschko: I Totally Get Anthony Joshua
As I said during the fight, particularly round 5, a veteran fighter gave reigns to a novice one, since Joshua was wobbling the moment he was knocked down by Klitschko, something which led to the dramatic defeat of a boxing legend. Joshua gassed out following the knockdown but Klitschko did not seize the golden chance to follow on and was very slow in doing so. A fraction of a second makes the big difference in boxing between victory and setback!
Anthony Joshua vs Wladimir Klitschko: 18 fights, 18 KOs..
In the press conference after the fight, Joshua said he would have no issues with having another fight with Klitschko, "I don’t mind fighting him again, if he wants the rematch. Big respect to Wladimir for challenging the young lions of the division. It’s up to him, I don’t mind. As long as Rob thinks it’s good I’m good to go." Hearn said Joshua's next fight would likely take place at the end of the year, possibly at the in . On 3 August 2017, Klitschko announced on his official website and social media channels that he was retiring from boxing.