The heavyweight division needed that!
Having gone somewhat stale for years, fresh blood was required and Anthony Joshua sent a healthy stream of crimson excitement soaring through the division’s veins by downing the man who recently laid claim to being the most dominant heavyweight walking the planet.
Wladimir Klitschko’s reign of superiority is definitely over and ‘AJ’ is the new breed.
Joshua’s stunning 11th round finish of the Ukrainian at Wembley proved that he is most definitely ready to test his mettle against the best in the world.
The London 2012 gold medallist rallied from the kind of adversity that he’d previously only seen in bad days in the gym as he gritted through a sixth round knockdown to come back and continue battling in one of the greatest heavyweight fights in decades.
His 19-0 record translates directly to a giant target on his back and there are no shortage of challengers waiting for a payday against a fighter who has gone from amateur to one of the biggest draws in boxing in less than four years.
WBC champion Deontay Wilder was in attendance for Joshua’s victory and so too was Tony Bellew, who is a newer name in the division having stopped David Haye last month.
And the elephant in the room is Tyson Fury, the former undisputed world champion who has declared himself on the comeback trail.
Arguably the most intriguing fight on the table for Joshua is the all-British clash with Fury, in which two undefeated records would also be on the line.
And it didn’t take Fury long at all to respond to Joshua’s victory.
Wellldone @anthonyfjoshua good fight, you had life & death with @klitschko & I played with the guy, let's dance 💃 pic.twitter.com/alLRHPb513
— TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) April 29, 2017
Fury offered a backhanded complimented to ‘AJ’ as he issued his congratulations before suggesting that Joshua had just encountered far more difficulty with Klitschko than Fury did in his 2015 victory over the Ukrainian in Dusseldorf.
We’d certainly pay to watch it!
