Date: Saturday 13th September 2014
Venue: Phones4u Arena – Manchester
Result: Anthony Joshua wins by TKO in Round 3
The future certainly looks bright for another British heavyweight champion of the world, with David Haye looking to return to the ring at some point and Anthony Joshua continuing his carefully managed progression through the ranks. It is actually quite a relevant comparison between the two as Joshua brings many of the same attributes to the ring as Haye, plus he’s around 5 inches taller!
It is worth stating that Anthony Joshua hasn’t been tested yet, he’s just getting used to life as a pro boxer and learning the differences between the amateur world and the pro world but so far he has dispatched all of his opponents (including Matt Skelton) within 2 rounds by KO. On Saturday night he was up against Konstantin Airich who actually managed to take him one round further than anyone had done before (3 rounds), but it was still a foregone conclusion from the beginning.
When Joshua walked in to the ring and you saw his opponent on the other side of the ring, it just outlined the vast differences there are in the current heavyweight division. On one side you had Airich, an overweight, under toned journeyman who makes a living getting punched and in the other corner you had a sculpted athlete with not an ounce of fat on him, just pure muscle and great conditioning. As soon as the fight began Joshua came forward relentlessly, punching through Airich’s guard, time and time again with straight right hands, he had him wobbling a few times and finally finished him off with the referee stepping in in the third round for a routine win.
As a boxing fan you generally get an inkling when you’ve watched someone special. Lennox Lewis, David Haye and Joe Calzaghe have all previously given that feeling, where you know it is just a matter of time until they win the titles. Watching Joshua’s superior athleticism and raw power and then comparing it to the likes of the other British heavyweight hopefuls in Dereck Chisora, Tyson Fury and David Price, you can’t help but feel he’ll be the one to surpass them all and make it big in the future.
What do you think? Will Anthony Joshua be a future heavyweight champion of the world. Vote below!
