Joshua back on knockout form once again

TKO and a brutal ending for the ever-dangerous Povetkin, who puts up a great fight

He had us worried all right, but ultimately the power provided the glory. Anthony Joshua successfully defended his WBA, WBO, IBF & IBO titles on Saturday night, by a TKO against the mightily dangerous Alexander Povetkin, at a rain-soaked Wembley Stadium, in front of another huge crowd of around 80,000 fans.

Referee Steve Gray called a halt to proceedings with a minute of the seventh round remaining, with the 39 year old Russian Povetkin knocked down for a second time, and clearly unable to continue.

This was a huge test for Joshua, and mandatory challengers don’t often come as good as Povetkin. Joshua’s camp was less than thrilled with the WBA for ordering their man to face him – and with good reason, as he proved at Wembley.

Post-fight, Joshua’s manager Eddie Hearn revealed that AJ’s training camp was far from perfect, with a flu bug and an elbow injury amongst various irritations that beset the champion. It certainly wasn’t a trouble-free evening for Joshua, but you get the feeling this victory was even better because of that. Once again Joshua had to weather a considerable storm, but, once again, his sheer power and ruthlessness prevailed.

Joshua spoke afterwards of his inability to resist a dust-up, and his pleasure in stopping Povetkin, having been taken the distance by Joseph Parker in his previous fight. His fighters instinct burns bright – but his vast army of supporters will hope that doesn’t lead to disaster, if and when he fights Deontay Wilder. The current WBC champion has immense power of his own, and is so unpredictable. But for now, the celebrations for yet another successful title defence will rightly be loud and long.

The fight started in cautious fashion, Joshua adopting a more crouched style than usual, getting closer to his much shorter opponent. For a minute and a half there wasn’t punch thrown in anger, but when they did engage, Joshua was soon in trouble. Povetkin caught him with a smart combination that caused a sizeable stumble from the champion.

It was a clear indication of Povetkin’s outrageous hand speed, as a left-right-left sequence momentarily stunned Joshua. The middle punch, a terrific uppercut, was a telling shot and Joshua felt it – luckily for him this happened with only seconds left in the round.

As Joshua came out for the second, the damage from Povetkin’s salvo was very evident – Joshua’s nose was bleeding quite heavily and looked as though it could be broken. He was breathing open-mouthed and looked uncomfortable. This wasn’t in Joshua’s script for sure. Povetkin was claiming the centre of the ring and looking confident. He threw the best punch of the round, a right hand that Joshua absorbed safely, but it was indicative of the challenge Joshua was facing.

Round three was close, Povetkin’s aggression still impressive, but Joshua finally got his jab going towards the end of the round, and regained a semblance of control. This was shaping into a close and riveting contest.

Joshua struck early in the fourth, a short uppercut opening a nasty gash over Povetkin’s left eye. The blood flowed but the round actually then slowed in pace, Povetkin trying to protect his eye, whilst Joshua looked to be concentrating on his timing, which was now looking far more on point.

The fifth was certainly livelier. Povetkin was coming forward with menace once again – a double left hook and his increasingly dangerous overhand right landing well. Joshua looked open-mouthed once again. He was in a seriously challenging fight here.

Round six was much better for Joshua – his jab was smart and accurate, and his combinations were looking more dangerous. Povetkin seemed to relish Joshua’s aggression and gave back plenty of his own, including another couple of those dangerous overhand rights – it was terrific stuff.

Povetkin started the seventh well, more good right hands, prompting Joshua to smile and call him on, beckoning him with his right glove. Halfway through the round, Joshua found the power and precision he needed. A big left hurt Povetkin, and he followed up swiftly. Another flurry of blows, then a savage left hand from Joshua seriously hurt Povetkin – a big right followed, and Povetkin was down.

In climbing off the canvas, Povetkin almost stumbled through the ropes, significantly dazed. He made it back to his feet just in time, and with Steve Gray deciding he was fit to continue, Joshua had his chance to finish it off. Another barrage of hugely powerful blows followed, culminating in a brutal left-right finish, and Povetkin was down again.

Steve Gray had no option but to stop the fight and Joshua’s victory was cheered lustily by the Wembley crowd. It certainly wasn’t easy, but Joshua had prevailed once again, and will take great heart from overcoming an excellent boxer in Povetkin, who came to fight, oozed confidence, and genuinely troubled the champion, despite his age. Joshua thus became the first man ever to stop Povetkin in his thirty-six fights, with Povetkin’s only previous defeat coming on points at the hands of Wladimir Klitschko back in 2013.

The judges’ scorecards made for interesting reading. They all had Joshua ahead after six rounds, with scores of 58-56, 58-56, and 59-55 – not a view that was universally shared, listening to many in the media. This Bloggers card had it all square at 57-57 and three rounds apiece.

It is, of course, impossible to ignore the drugs controversy that will always follow Povetkin. He tested positive for the anti-ischemic drug Meldonium in May 2016, (Povetkin claimed he stopped using it 2015, when it was still legal to do so), and he failed a second test in 2017 for the muscle-building substance Ostarin.

Joshua can only deal with the opponent in front of him, and since Povetkin was allowed to fight on, he has always been a dangerous fighter. It was a great victory for Joshua, and as result of that, little has been said of Povetkin’s chequered history with drugs. Had Povetkin beaten Joshua, however, one can easily imagine how the drugs issue would swiftly have become a massively re-ignited subject, to say the least.

Thankfully for Joshua and British boxing, that didn’t happen, and once again the clamour for the Joshua v Wilder superfight grows. Wilder’s fight with Tyson Fury has been set for December 1^st, with an as yet unnamed venue, though many observers doubt it will ever happen – the lack of a venue being announced yet, and Tyson Fury being, well, Tyson Fury – to name but two reasons.

So Joshua waits, and will reflect on a great ending to an evening that at one point looked troubling, to say the least. His critics will yet again say he leaves himself too open at times, and his chin is not the strongest. Supporters will say Povetkin didn’t put him down, and that Joshua’s finish was unanswerable and clinical – which it was.

This paradox is precisely what makes an Anthony Joshua fight so compelling – together with his natural charisma and the phenomenal level of support he enjoys. He remains the main man in the heavyweight division, and whoever he fights next, it will be another huge occasion – and hopefully yet another successful landmark in what is fast becoming an outstanding career.

By Chris Tribe

24th September 2018

Copyright © 2018 Chris Tribe. All Rights Reserved.

Photo credit: Copyright © Karl-Ludwig Poggemann Flickr Attribution – 2.0 Generic (CC BY2.0) (Changes made to original photo)