There is something about Adonis-like fighters that always makes us wonder if they will shatter like marble when seriously struck?
Is Anthony Joshua another Frank Bruno? No, young Anthony would appear to be much more than that. On Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London, the towering Joshua, 6?6? and 245 pounds, from Watford in Hertfordshire, answered some important questions when he knocked out bitter rival Dillian Whyte, 6?4? and 247 pounds, from Brixton in London, after 1:27 seconds of the seventh round.
The sole knockdown of the fight came in that concluding round when Joshua hit the jackpot with a powerful right to the jaw that unhinged the tough and gritty Whyte and put him in dire straits. Once again, Joshua proved himself to be a ruthless and clinical finisher. Guarding against recklessness, he calmly fired home the payoff punches that sent Whyte crashing down for the full count near the ropes.
However, had big Anthony not been made of the right stuff, he might well have been out for the count himself in a thrilling third round. Whyte, after weathering a sustained attack, stopped Joshua in his tracks with a big left hook to the jaw that clearly shook England?s great heavyweight hope. It was the first significant test of Joshua?s punch resistance and he coped with the situation admirably. Although dazed and hurt, he kept his composure and only momentarily lost his thread as he continued to move and push out punches. His feet weren?t glued to the canvas, he didn?t flounder hopelessly, he didn?t panic.
The determined Whyte tried hard to capitalize on his advantage with heavy shots to the head and body but couldn?t take Joshua out. That one blip aside, Joshua was always in control of the fight with his superior skills and movement. Although the contest was inevitably billed as a battle of punchers, Anthony was the better boxer by some distance, cleverer and more varied than his willing and tenacious opponent.
Not that Dillian Whyte should feel too bad about the result that saw him lose his undefeated record and drop to 16-1. The Brixton bomber gave everything he had and was always a tough and dangerous foe in a tense and often exciting battle. His reputation as a hitter made the fight constantly intriguing. Whyte has plenty to offer for the future. He boxes capably, hits hard and has the defiance and bloody-mindedness of Dereck Chisora when under fire.
Dillian will be feeling sore at his loss, but he needs to temper his pride and anger and come back sensibly. One hopes that he doesn?t do a ?George Groves? and press for an immediate rematch that he would probably lose. Conversely, a return go would ideally suit Joshua and provide him with another valuable test.
The pattern of the fight was set in a highly charged first round in which both men got straight down to work and tested each other?s mettle with heavy blows. Neither wanted the round to end and there were incredible scenes at the bell when Joshua kept punching and Whyte replied in kind. Dillian almost comically missed Anthony with a good old-fashioned haymaker, but there was nothing funny about the ring invasion that ensued. A group of fans stormed through the ropes to protest Joshua?s infraction of the rules, and at some point in all the commotion referee Howard Foster took a blow to the nose beyond the call of duty and shed the only blood of the night.
An experienced and competent official, Foster cleared the ring and then called a time-out at the start of the second round to remind messrs. Joshua and Whyte of the bell?s purpose. All in all, the toughness of the fight and its side attractions proved an excellent test of Joshua?s mental strength and durability. His stamina was equally impressive. Having never traveled beyond the third round in his previous 14 bouts, Anthony proved that he could go much deeper into a fight without his boxing becoming ragged or his work rate significantly dipping.
Whyte concentrated mainly on a body attack in the hope of weakening Joshua. Although the heavier man by two pounds, Dillian often looked like a bulldog trying to move a rhinoceros. Joshua kept jabbing and showed some nice combination punching too. His movement is surprisingly fluid for a man of his size and will improve with experience. He possesses the vital killer instinct and just needs to protect himself a little more carefully and learn how to better mask his distress when he is hurt. Prudent matchmaking over the coming months against sensible and testing opposition should see Joshua continue to improve and add to his arsenal.
By his own admission, Joshua also needs to maintain his concentration in the ring and not be swayed into technical errors by the roar of the crowd or the provocations of his opponent. The Whyte match was a major box office attraction for the London fight scene and it seemed to go to everyone?s head. Joshua admitted that he got swept away by all the hype. ?It wasn?t sensible to fight on emotion,? he conceded. ?I took some big shots which I had no need to take. I must rely on my boxing as well as my power.?
Rigidity
Nevertheless, Joshua certainly doesn?t suffer from Frank Bruno?s rigidity or boxing-by-numbers approach, although the comparisons are understandable. There is something about Adonis-like fighters that always makes us wonder if they will shatter like marble when seriously struck.
Bruno was the perfect physical specimen and could certainly wallop, but he looked constantly stiff and lacked the necessary mental toughness and ruthlessness to make him a great and genuine world champion. He eventually limped over the finish line to win the WBC title from Oliver McCall in 1995, but only after a losing an earlier challenge to Tim Witherspoon and twice being savaged by Mike Tyson.
Although he improved slightly with time, Bruno could never paper over the serious cracks in his make-up. In his winning fight against Floyd (Jumbo) Cummings in 1983, Frank was nearly knocked out by a punch that made his body shudder in installments from head to toe. He was all but out. It was as if Cummings had hit him on the head with a scythe and sliced right down through his body. Frank never did quite learn how to hide his distress and bluff his way through a crisis. A big punch would freeze him and root him to the spot like a statue. Nor could he let the punches flow like Joshua, often resembling a giant in shackles.
Sterner
Joshua is made of sterner stuff, looks more natural and relaxed and is imbued with a far more positive and clinical attitude. He needs to jab more and with greater purpose and authority, and he also needs to move more as well as varying his attack. As things stand, he is too one-dimensional but getting better. Hopefully, further experience will affect these changes and make him a more complete fighter and a harder target to hit. But we?re talking about the heavyweights here and we know that any crazy thing can happen. There are many different ways in which a man can get knocked out, even the toughest of men. Ask Joe Frazier and George Foreman.
Joshua, for now, is looking good and doesn?t seem to be getting carried away by his record of 15 consecutive knockout wins, mainly against men who were meant to get knocked out. Asked about a fight with Tyson Fury, Anthony replied, ?Tyson would be a hard night for me at the moment given his extra years of experience. Although I believe I will win if he is still the man to beat in a year or 18 months.?
Promoter Eddie Hearn reckons Joshua will be ready to challenge for the world title after another three or four fights. That would be rash in the extreme if the heavyweight division had any kind of significant depth of talent, but in fact it is probably quite realistic in today?s pop chart-like ?straight to number one? environment. Joshua stands at number 10 in the independent Transnational Boxing Ranking, and the only possible minefields ahead of him would appear to be Fury, Wladimir Klitschko and Deontay Wilder. That?s how fallow the field has become.
Not prone to bragging or tiresome boasts, Joshua knows that he needs more rounds and more testing experiences. That?s why he would like to go again with Dillian Whyte. Said Anthony: ?This fight was good for me and ideally I would like the rematch because this is one man who can give me the tough rounds I need.?
It is more likely that Joshua will next fight Dereck Chisora, who stopped Jakov Gospic in three rounds on the O2 Arena undercard. Del Boy, quite a busy bee at the moment, thus scored his second win in a week after a trip to Germany saw him halt Peter Erdos in five rounds in Hamburg. That being said, Peter Erdos has a 9-9-4 record while Jakov Gospic checks in with a 16-14 log.
No matter. We know we can rely on Dereck to run his mouth and talk up a match with Joshua as the fight of the century. And it will all be done in the best possible taste!
