It took Anthony Joshua seven rounds to beat Dominic Breazeale in their IBF heavyweight world title fight.
The Watford-born fighter was faster, stronger and sharper than his Californian opponent, who didn’t look in the same league as Joshua.
Breazeale made the mistake of dropping his hands a number of times, a huge error against Joshua, which he was consistently punished for with brutal hooks from the Brit.
https://twitter.com/BreatheSport/status/746840548019965952
By the third round, Joshua had Breazeale up against the ropes numerous times, and the American was lucky to stay on his feet after a huge right hand uppercut from Joshua against the ropes.
By the beginning of the fourth round, it felt as though the IBF champ was toying with his opponenet, but Breazeale stood his ground and took some of the momentum out of Joshua’s onslaught.
Somehow despite Joshua landing blow after blow, Breazeale was still standing by the sixth round, showing commendable heart and grit.
In the end it was little more than a sparring session for Joshua, who was able to pick his punches at his own pace, at his own leisure.
It was in round seven that it all unfolded for Breazeale, a jab from Joshua’s left fist left Breazeale unguarded, and AJ landed a huge right hand to put the American on the deck.
Anthony Joshua with the 7th round KO! #JoshuaBreazeale https://t.co/ULdEUkSVyc
— Laceupboxing (@Laceupboxing) June 25, 2016
Breazeale, tough fighter that he is, came back for more, but got swiftly put back on the deck once more by AJ.
So it’s 17 fights, 17 victories, 17 knockouts for Anthony Joshua – and still the IBF world heavyweight champion.
Big up to @anthonyfjoshua on a solid win. Looked great with jab, speed, power and patience! #JoshuaBreazeale Well Done! 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾
— Lennox Lewis, CBE, CM (@LennoxLewis) June 25, 2016
“When you start catching them flush, you know they can feel the shots, and so he was tough. But this has been tough for me, as two weeks after my last fight I was straight back into the ring. So now I look forward to getting my break. I need some time off,” said Joshua after the fight.
“I’m making waves in the US now and one day I’m sure Deontay Wilder and I will get to experience what each other are all about. I was initially looking at [Tyson] Fury, but his ankle has postponed things, so now I will look at other opponents, like [Joseph] Parker. I had initially wanted Fury in the winter, but not now.
“Now I want rest, to recharge my batteries before I get to it again. (I wore the white tonight) because Ali is an inspirational person, inside and outside of the ring. It will take time to get anywhere close to that, but all I can do is try. This is my moment and all I can do it take advantage of it.”
David Haye was quick to make the case that he wants to fight Joshua, and said on Sky Sports Box Office that he doesn’t need to fight anyone else before a fight against Joshua.
“I want people to have question marks, if I show people what I’ve got, I won’t get this fight.”
Joshua has stated his desire to fight Tyson Fury, but following Fury’s ankle injury, it looks likely that Joseph Parker (19-0) will be his next opponent.
