Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua kept his knockout streak alive with a TKO stoppage of durable Carlos Takam at 1:34 of round 10?
Saturday night at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, IBF/WBA/IBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (20-0, 20 KOs), the young slugger from Watford, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, kept his knockout streak alive with a TKO stoppage of durable Carlos Takam (35-4-1, 27 KOs), the clever block of granite from Noisy-le-Grand, Seine-Saint-Denis, France, by way of Douala, Cameroon, at 1:34 of round 10 with help from the referee.
Fighting in front of a capacity crowd of 75,000, beating the old record of 63,000 for Ali-Spinks II at the Superdome in September 1978, Sky Sports put on a terrific show where the intersection of showbiz, capital and sport was plain as day. Amid the strobe lights and pyrotechnics, the show of show, the spectacle of spectacles?there stands Anthony Joshua in all his glory. Built like Adonis with power in both hands, he?s been anointed savior of the heavyweight division. But the heavyweights no more need saving than the middleweights or bantams. Boxing is what needs saving, but it?s the same old story, like saving the fallen, like retiring undefeated. Joshua is green, he is inexperienced, and fortunately for him the division is not deep. But he?s the champion, bona fide, certified, our champion, and we should celebrate his presence while he?s still standing.
Fighting out of the blue corner in white trunks, Joshua is as green as they come. His signature fight against Klitschko cemented his legacy, as premature and shapeless as that legacy currently is.
Takam, fighting out of the red corner in black trunks with silver trim, made what was supposed to be an easy night against a late replacement a night to forget rather than remember. Joshua can hard, if he can find the target, but appears to lack one-punch power. Takam?s movement caused Joshua fits. At times he looked sluggish. At times he looked clueless. Everyone knew Joshua would eventually take Takam out. That was a given when he was selected as Pulev?s understudy. But as the rounds piled up it was disheartening watching the savior of boxing struggle to stop a man eight years his senior and six inches shorter who simply would not be stopped.
We want Joshua to win. We want him reign forever and ever and be garlanded in ivy and surrounded by virgins bearing gifts. But if he can?t end fights without the help of the referee, there may be something rotten in the state of Denmark.
The referee, Phil Edwards, seem to be waiting all night for the chance to step in and preserve Joshua?s perfect record. Stubborn Takam refused to oblige. He was cut over both eyes. He was bleeding. He was a mess. But he wasn?t finished. He would have fought another dozen rounds if it meant he still had even the remotest chance of winning. The ref failed to understand the ethos of gladiators wanting go out on their shields. He denied Takam even that. Stopping the fight wasn?t a medical decision. Stopping the fight was a marketing decision. He wasn?t saving Takam from serious injury. He was helping Anthony Joshua save face.
