Fighting out of the blue corner in black trunks with red trim, Joshua wasted no time in taking the fight to Denis Bakhtov?
Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London, England, Anthony Joshua (9-0, 9 KOs), the 24-year-old heavyweight gold medalist from Watford, England, destroyed 34-year-old Denis Bakhtov (38-10, 25 KOs), aka Darth Vader, from St. Petersburg, Russia, forcing a stoppage at 1:00 of the second round.
Fighting out of the blue corner in black trunks with red trim, Joshua wasted no time in taking the fight to his out-of-shape opponent.
Bakhtov, fighting out of the red corner is red trunks trimmed in white, had lost four of his last five fights. His resilience is what got him the fight. But his resilience was no match for the up-and-coming heavyweight star.
No sooner had the opening bell sounded than the 6?6? Joshua began pummeling his overmatched challenger. Bakhtov?s face began reddening immediately. He retreated to the ropes within seconds. At the one-minute mark he was cut over his left eye.
Bakhtov sucked it up as best he could, but at under six-feet and with a huge reach disadvantage, there was little he could do but absorb punishment until the referee, Ian John-Lewis, stepped in to stop the slaughter.
?It only went two rounds but I just wanted to hurt him,? Joshua told Sky Sports 1. ?He hadn?t been stopped so I just wanted to see what he could take.?
Bakhtov couldn?t take much. The last time he was stopped was in 2005. Many hoped he might give Joshua some competitive rounds. But it was not to be.
The Sky Sports announcer calling the fight said it was ?as competitive as a bullfight.?
The matador?s next fight is against Michael Sprott. Joshua is being appropriately groomed. This time next year, he might be fighting for an actual title instead of the vacant WBC International heavyweight belt he won by crushing Darth Vader.
