At the O2 Arena, London, Anthony Joshua overcame some unforeseen hurdles en route to demolishing Dillian Whyte in the 7th round. Going into the final stanza, Boxing Base saw the contest 59-55 for Joshua, who now wears the British and Commonwealth Heavyweight straps.
It seemed to be all over in just the 1st round when Joshua caught his man with a knee-trembler. Whyte was hurt, almost out on his feet, but valiantly rode out the storm, going on to see the final bell.
Mistakenly thrown or not, Joshua then landed a punch just after the bell, an act which sent Whyte into an immediate rage. All hell broke loose in the ring, with only the referee, and eventually a mass of both mens’ teams, able to separate an inbetween-round exchange. The theatrics were both unfortunate and mightily entertaining, adding another minute to Whyte’s recovery time.
The end looked to be in sight as the bell chimed to begin the 2nd, but Whyte was far from done. The Londoner settled in, proving to be quite a handful for the Heavyweight division’s most dangerous prospect. Whyte moved well, slipping punches, showcasing his ‘Amateur game’ savvy, and somehow managed to soak up a fair number of Joshua’s scoring blows. Most importantly, Whyte kept his foe busy, jabbing and winging in right hands, and most importantly, always responded when under attack.
But eventually Joshua found that fight-changing blow that led to the hellish knockout in the 7th. The 6′ 6″ former Olympian found the temple of Whyte with a right hand, and soon dropped his game opponent with a single uppercut. Whyte was on queer street, leaving the referee no choice but to end the contest there and then. Good call.
Joshua now improves to a perfect 15 wins, 15 knockouts, no defeats, while Whyte picks up his first blemish, falling to 16 wins, 13 knockouts, no defeats.
Not only was Joshua vs Whyte a fan-friendly, competitive affair, it was great for boxing, the ‘glamour division’, and came as a coming-of-age fight for the rising Joshua. The big man can be hit, and yeah, isn’t the lightest on his feet, but I’ve got a feeling he’s only going to get better as he grows into the division.
So, a few big questions…
Who’s next for Anthony Joshua? And, following this performance, how would this musclebound destroyer fare against the likes of fellow countrymen Tyson Fury an unretired David Haye? Beyond that, who are his biggest threats on the Heavyweight scene?
Give us your take on Joshua vs Whyte, plus the rest of the explosive undercard featuring Eubank Jr vs O’Sullivan and Mitchell vs Barrosa.
