10 Thoughts Regarding Last Night;
1/ Boxing was ultimately a big winner, particularly in the U.K. When the general public switch on and turn up in droves, this is the kind of fight they need to see.
2/ I was utterly convinced that Joshua was done in the 6th. He may still be relatively green, resembling Frank Bruno at times, defenceless and ‘gassed’ but he clearly possesses something that Frank never had. Recuperative powers and that champion’s ‘x-factor’.
3/ Klitschko was rightfully ahead before the finish and the two cards that had him trailing were an all too predictable travesty.
4/ It was a highly entertaining scrap that lived up to the huge hype but I saw more skills and subtlety watching Timothy Witherspoon shadow boxing the other night than I did throughout 11 rounds at Wembley.
5/ If Klitschko never fights again then I think this a fine alternative spin on his legacy. Going out on his shield in a thriller. History will be kinder to him.
6/ As the 5th round began I was about to post a status saying ‘Uppercuts are AJ’s best bet’ but the imminent drama prevented me from sending.
Wlad was blocking the jab and left hook all night long and the right hand was falling short. The way Klitschko stands and holds his hands makes him vulnerable to ‘one up the middle’ and so it proved in the 11th.
7/ The moribund vibe that prompted Bert Sugar to suggest that the heavyweight division ‘should be cancelled due to lack of interest’ is officially over.
8/ Although Fury has never been beaten, under the circumstances, I consider Joshua to have the most credible claim to the title ‘Heavyweight Champion of the World’ right now.
9/ I picked Joshua inside the distance in the second half of the fight but I feel those that favoured Klitschko’s experience and ‘generalship’ were more right than wrong. It’s just that nobody could have foreseen that conclusion.
10/ Emmanuel Steward once suggested that Oscar De La Hoya had ‘something protecting him’ because he was ‘a child of destiny.’
I feel the same way about Anthony Joshua….