It’s often in those kinds of wars that you learn more about a fighter than you might from any number of dominant performances.
We already knew Anthony Joshua had knockout power.
We already knew he had the ability to dictate the pace and range at which fights are fought.
But we never knew that he had what it take to take a shot from a legitimate elite heavyweight and come back swinging.
Due to the fact that he was a fighter who had never seen the eighth round before, plenty of pundits reckoned that Joshua would be a spent force if his Wembley clash with Wladimir Klitschko reached the latter rounds.
Who knows how much the sixth round knockdown took out of Joshua’s gas tank but however much it was, it wasn’t enough as he had reserves left to unleash a monumental flurry on his Ukrainian opponent in the eleventh round that put him away.
That was INCREDIBLE https://t.co/yAHcwy4GYF
— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) April 29, 2017
But possibly more impressive than his cardio was Joshua’s resilience and ability to take a clean shot.
Just take a look at the knockdown from which the 27-year-old rallied.
#JoshuaKlitchsko Joshua goes down! pic.twitter.com/K6RwrU6mrd
— Haymonites (@ego_biggest) April 29, 2017
https://twitter.com/big_man_joshy/status/858434982158663683
From wobbly legs, unfocused gaze and considerably slower punches, Joshua shook away the cobwebs and put away the man that many consider one of the greatest defensive heavyweights of all time.
We watched a war in Wembley but, fortunately for him, Joshua is a true warrior.
