Joshua: I Had To Dig Deep, Fought My Heart Out and Won

By Elliot Foster

Anthony Joshua became a superstar with a stoppage victory over Wladimir Klitschko –– but he ha to weather a tough storm to do so.

The IBF heavyweight king captured the vacant WBA Super and IBO belts with the 11th-round stoppage of the Ukrainian.

But Joshua, who is now 19-0 with 19 early endings, was dropped for the first time in his career as a paid puncher en-route to the greatest night of his career to date, exclusively live on Sky Sports Box Office.

The fight, at Wembley Stadium in front of 90,000 people, was cagey in the first third, but it all lit up in round five as Joshua floored Klitschko.

The former two-time champion sufficiently regained his senses enough to return the favour to 27-year-old ‘AJ’ in the following round and there was plenty of action in the rounds which followed.

But in the penultimate round, after taking all that Klitschko had, Joshua –– with a swollen left eye –– unleashed a number of shots and knocked the veteran down three times before the referee, America’s David Fields, called time on the action after two minutes and 25 seconds of the round.

For Joshua, the world is now his oyster and it remains to be seen what the promotional and managerial teams behind him aim to do with the latest superstar of British sport.

“I’m not perfect,” he said after the win, “but I’m trying –– and if you’re not in the game and taking part you’re going to fail.

“I want to say thank you to all the fans, to the GB coaches, to the coaches at Finchley ABC and also to Wladimir Klitschko.

“He is a role model in the sport and I have nothing but love and respect for him.

“I need to improve, but thank you to everyone. I love you.

“It is what it is. I had to dig deep but I fought my heart out and came out and won.”