Anthony Joshua: One Step From Glory

Is that change we can smell in the air? It will be if Anthony Joshua can defeat Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, April 29. While Klitschko remains on the scene, the new era of heavyweight boxing can’t really begin but that should change this weekend.

Will it be the case of the up and coming boxer, who some feel became a champion far too soon, winning yet more gold? Anthony Joshua has only had 18 professional contests, yet three of those have been world title fights; it’s a rise to fame that is about a year ahead of schedule, but he had a string of knockouts and finding opponents was becoming more and more difficult.

You can’t blame Joshua for the speed in which he won the world title. With Tyson Fury winning and then being stripped of the IBF title, Charles Martin took advantage of an injury to his opponent and became the new IBF world heavyweight champion. When the offer of a shot at the newly crowned champion’s title came along, there was no way that Joshua was going to turn the fight down. Martin would have been an ideal stepping stone opponent for him anyway, and in just two rounds, Joshua destroyed Martin to win the title.

Two rather routine defenses against Dominic Breazeale and Eric Molina have followed, all while Wladimir Klitschko has been inactive. He was to have had that rematch against Tyson Fury, but the British boxer has had plenty of problems outside of the ring and isn’t due to make a comeback until possibly July of this year.

Joshua is a boxer who seemingly has the world at his feet. The biggest fight of his career is about to take place and you can find sports odds of -286 on him retaining his IBF title and winning the WBA and IBO versions. His career has been handled well by Eddie Hearn but even he couldn’t have dreamed of a fight with Klitschko in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium. It’s the man who looks to be the future of the division (unless you’re a fan of Deontay Wilder, of course) against the boxer who has dominated heavyweight boxing for most of the century.

Taking on Klitschko is another master plan by Hearn. A win over the former champion will be a pretty impressive addition to Joshua’s record. It’s the opinion of Joshua that Father Time has caught up with his opponent and that is a possibility. Klitschko wouldn’t be the first boxer to carry on well past his prime, hoping past skills will be enough to get one more big win.

A win for Joshua will propel him towards future title unification fights against Joseph Parker (WBO champion) and Deontay Wilder (WBC champion). The latter is more attractive, of course, as it possibly opens the door to the British boxer heading over to the USA for his first pro fight.

With Tyson Fury talking more positively about returning to the ring, Joshua could also have larger fish to fry at home. The bad talking between the pair has already started and a fight between two Klitschko conquerors would be another Wembley sell-out. There’s certainly a lot at stake this Saturday, not just for Joshua but the heavyweight division.