Joshua: I Can Do What Klitschko Did, Retain The Title For 10 Years

IBF, IBO, WBA heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (19-0, 19 KOs) is looking for a very long reign in the sport.

The boxer survived some tough moments on Saturday night, when he stopped Wladimir Klitschko in the eleventh round of their classic fight before a wild crowd of 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium in London.

Joshua had dropped Klitschko in the fifth round, but he was gassed out from trying to finish the 41-year-old veteran off in that round. Klitschko rallied in the same round and then dropped Joshua hard in the sixth. Joshua was able to get a second wind in the championship rounds, and battled back to drop Klitschko two more times for a TKO win in the eleventh.

The loss was Klitschko second consecutive defeat. The former division ruler was coming off an 18 month layoff. Klitschko last saw action in November 2015, when he lost a twelve round unanimous decision to Tyson Fury.

The loss to Fury was Klitschko first defeat in over 10 years - and everyone considered the outcome to be a major upset.

Joshua is hoping to replicate the 10 year world title reign of Klitschko.

The 2012 Olympic gold medal winner has a lot of respect for Klitschko and the two boxers barely exchanged any harsh words during the entire promotion - but Joshua admits that he started trash talking to Klitschko during the second half of their fight.

"Yeah I told him I was going to bring it and it was time to fight," Joshua said to The Telegraph.

"Me and Wladimir Klitschko didn't trash talk, with a bit of trash talk it might be better with a different opponent, we can bring a different audience. My worry before this was, would it live up to the expectations? I hope it did. I enjoyed it. I didn't feel the pressure. I think there must be someone I can dance with again that can get bigger than that."

"I can do what Klitschko did, retain the title for 10 years. That's why I said before for me that it wasn't a defining fight, it's part of my journey."