Photos: Anthony Joshua, Charles Martin Ready For London War

By Elliot Foster

Anthony Joshua and Charles Martin both hit the scales ahead of their battle for global honours this weekend.

The show, which is topped by the heavyweight duo in a clash for the American’s IBF world title, takes place on Saturday at London’s O2 Arena, live on Sky Sports Box Office, and features two more world title showdowns.

Olympic gold medal winner Joshua (15-0, 15 KOs) challenges Martin (23-0-1, 21 KOs), from St Louis, for the title in the 29-year-old southpaw’s first defence.

Martin (17st 7lbs/245 pounds) won the vacant title, which was stripped from world heavyweight titlist Tyson Fury, inside three rounds against Vyacheslav Glazkov back in January after the Ukraine-born fighter suffered an injured knee.

And now 26-year-old Joshua, who tipped the scales a pound lighter than the champ (17st 6lbs/244 pounds), will look to take the crown and join IBF super middleweight champion James DeGale in the history books as only the second Brit to have won both a world title as a pro and the Olympics in the unpaid code.

Meanwhile, Jamie McDonnell made weight for his defence of the WBA bantamweight crown against Fernando Vargas, who was handed the fight on just three days’ notice.

McDonnell, from Doncaster, weighed in at 8st 5lbs 6oz, but Vargas was ‘a few ounces over’ the eight-stone six-pound limit and has three hours to shift the excess.

Lee Selby, on the other hand, took a leaf out of McDonnell’s book, making the weight at the first time of asking.

Ahead of his second IBF featherweight title defence, he came in at 8st 13lbs 1oz, while his challenger, Eric Hunter of Philadelphia, weighed four ounces heavier.

Elsewhere, Matthew Macklin (11st 5lbs 7oz) and Brian Rose (11st 5lbs 5oz) meet in a 12-round middleweight crossroads clash, with the vacant IBF Inter-Continental bauble up for grabs.

The winner could well go on to fight for a world title in the future, while the loser will most definitely be forced to take stock and evaluate their participation in the sport going forward.

And Ohara Davies and his opponent Andy Keates were on point at the O2 Arena weigh-in ahead of their tantalising domestic dust-up for the vacant English lightweight title, which was relinquished by Kevin Hooper.

Davies, who mouthed off at will at Wednesday’s final press conference, came in at 9st 8lbs 9oz, with Hooper, the Midlands Area champion at 10-stone, clocking in at 9st 8lbs 2oz.