Anthony Joshua extended his unbeaten run in the heavyweight division last night defeating Carlos Takam after a 10th round stoppage.
Many were expecting the fight to end sooner as Takam had only 12 days notice. Yet he exceeded expectations taking the Brit all the way to the 10th round, despite sustaining an eye injury in round 4.
Since the eye injury, the referee and doctors were making sure Takam was still fit to carry on but the experienced heavyweight’s injury only spurred him on.
Could the fight have gone further?
Many thought the fight was stopped too early. Considering the physical damage Takam sustained throughout the rounds the Cameroonian did not look fazed by Joshua’s punches in round 10, which begs the question: should the fight have gone on?
#JoshuaTakam pic.twitter.com/WlztywqARC
— Chris Eubank Jr (@ChrisEubankJr) October 28, 2017
AJ winning everything but that bad stoppage. Does a discredit to Takams toughness
— Carl Frampton MBE (@RealCFrampton) October 28, 2017
It was clear to see that since Takam was able to continue from round 4 to 10 with an eye injury, his heart and passion alone would have allowed him to compete all the way until the final round. The stoppage infuriated the challenger and it was easy to see why, as he was still on his feet, willing to continue, showing the world the clash with Joshua was more than just a fight.
It was a similar situation to that of the Vitali Klitschko and Lennox Lewis back in 2003, when the fight was stopped at the end of round 6, due to an eye injury Klitschko had picked up, which looked far worse than that of Carlos Takam. Like Takam, Klitschko was still willing to battle on.
What’s next for Anthony Joshua?
Now that he is 20-0 there is one fighter who would be ideal for Joshua as his main challenge in proving he is the best in the division and that is a fight with Deontay Wilder.
Despite the controversial end to the bout in Cardiff against Takam, it was clear to see that Joshua was the more dominant force throughout, winning each round as the fight progressed.
Tyson Fury is one heavyweight that has thrown his name into mix as a possible opponent for Anthony Joshua:
If @anthonyfjoshua adopts the @MikeTyson style vs me I'll adopt the @MuhammadAli style that's coming back after years out& beating the bully
— TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) October 18, 2017
Joshua’s next fight should either be for the WBC or the WBO heavyweight titles. Challenging the likes of Wilder or Parker which would really test Anthony’s boxing ability against the very best.
Words: Asllan Gecaj | Subbing: Reuben Pinder
Feature Image from Pixabay