Anthony Joshua admitted himself after getting off the canvas to finish Wladimir Klitschko and unify heavyweight titles during Saturday's dramatic slugfest, he's not perfect.
But his record remains so as Joshua (19-0, 19 KOs) proved he just might be the perfect fighter to make boxing's heavyweight division relevant once again.
In front of an electric crowd of 90,000 at London's Wembley Stadium, Joshua scored a pair of knockdowns in Round 11 to finish off an incredibly game Klitschko (64-5, 53 KOs) by TKO in a bout that marked the former champion's return after losing his trio of world titles 17 months ago. "[I'm] 19-0, three and a half years in the game," Joshua said. "As I've said, I'm not perfect, but I'm trying. I dig deep. It is what it is.
As I've said, if you don't take part, you'll never know the outcome." Joshua, 27, a rising star who won gold for England at the 2012 London Olympics, made the third defense of his IBF title and picked up the vacant WBA belt in the process. But he was forced to overcome severe adversity to get there after running out of gas and suffering a mid-fight knockdown the first of his young career.
In a big-time heavyweight showdown that not only lived up to but exceeded expectations, Joshua closed the show emphatically after entering the championship rounds leading on two of three scorecards.
Joshua rocked Klitschko, 41, with a vicious right uppercut and sent him down with a flurry that followed. Klitschko was knocked down a second time after a combination against the ropes, but he continued to fight back despite being hurt until referee David Fields jumped in to rescue him as Joshua was teeing off. "Both fighters gave their best.
The best man won tonight, and it's amazing event for boxing," Klitschko said. "Two gentlemen fought each other. Anthony was better today than I. It's really sad that I didn't make it tonight. I was planning to do it. It didn't work. But all the respect to Anthony and congratulations."
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