Anthony Joshua: record, next fight and profile →
Russian boxer Alexander Povetkin admitted that IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua was the stronger fighter in their showdown on Saturday night at Wembley in London. Before a crowd of 80,000 fans, Povetkin was putting in a solid effort and landing more than a handful of punches of Joshua, who was bleeding from his nose and got rattled in the first round.
Anthony Joshua is still eyeing a showdown with Deontay Wilder but proclaimed he would fight anyone who comes his way after a technical knockout victory over Alexander Povetkin on Saturday. The 28-year-old Briton, who holds the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO belts, has been in talks about a fight with WBC title holder Wilder which would give him a shot at becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
Working behind a steady jab (8 landed/24 thrown per round), Anthony Joshua found his range in round seven and closed the show by landing 11 of 17 power shots. Alexander Povetkin had a 43-37 edge in power landed before the end came. 43 of Povetkin's 47 landed punches were power shots. 29 of Joshua's 90 landed punches were body shots.
Eddie Hearn has said that he intends to go back to the negotiation table with the team of Deontay Wilder regarding a potential fight. The promoter of Anthony Joshua watched his man come through a first-round scare at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night as the Olympic gold medallist retained his unified world heavyweight champion status with a seventh-round stoppage.
By Keith Idec - Alexander Povetkin was dangerous at times Saturday night, but Anthony Joshua ultimately did what he has done to all but one professional opponent. The hard-hitting British superstar dropped Povetkin twice in the seventh round and stopped him in the main event of a seven-bout card that dre...
Joshua, Povetkin Scorecard Live BoxingScene - Heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua hit the scales nearly two stones heavier than Russian opponent Alexander Povetkin as the two weighed in for Saturday's title fight at Wembley Stadium. (photos by Lawrence Lustig, Mark Robinson)
IBF, IBO, WBC, WBA heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua landed 35% of his total punches, while opponents landed 21.2%, giving Joshua a plus/minus rating of +13.8- #3 among CompuBox Categorical Leaders. Joshua also landed 38.9% of his power punches.
Anthony Joshua (21-0, 20 KOs) defends his IBF World, WBA Super World, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles against Alexander Povetkin (34-1, 24 early) at Wembley Stadium on Sky Sports PPV on Saturday night in what he hopes will continue to be a long run of fights and victories. As fight night draws near, the 28-year-old has revealed that he has also looked at another sportsman in a different sport for tips on how to best look after himself and prolong his career.
Alexander Povetkin has gone from being the hottest young heavyweight in the world to facing him. The 2004 Olympic gold medalist at super heavyweight burst into the upper echelon of the professional ranks in only his fourteenth fight, stopping veteran former titlist Chris Byrd. In his very next fight, he won a decision over undefeated Eddie Chambers and appeared on a rocket towards a crack at Wladimir Klitschko.
Odds-makers, most fans and the vast majority of experts don’t consider Alexander Povetkin too big of a threat to upset Anthony Joshua on Saturday night. Povetkin’s promoters get the sense, however, that Joshua’s handlers and Joshua himself realize the danger Povetkin presents.