ABCDEFG… IBF… The Boxing Punch Line of Comedy! Charles Martin Vs Anthony Joshua

By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart

“It leaves me a few lines to preview a big fight this weekend.”

That was how I started the preview to the Callum Smith 19-0, 1 KO WBC eliminator and European super middleweight fight with Hadillah Mohoumadi 20-4-1, 15 KO’s last week. I had a few lines to preview it, Callum took just over 100 seconds to begin, middle and end it! Smith took the European title in 1 round! He had already taken the English title in 1 round AND the British title in 1 round beforehand! So if it took a few lines to preview it, could it take me longer than that to review it?

It has probably taken you longer to read this than it took Smith to get rid of a guy that nobody, including James DeGale 22-1, 14 KO’s, had stopped before. Smith has devastating power and accuracy in his shots and he got Mohoumadi out of there using a combination of those shots and not just one single punch – 17 of them without reply before the referee jumped in.

This was no premature stoppage or a referee nervous after what had happened to Nick Blackwell but a referee who jumped in to save Mohoumadi further punishment. Smith is now the mandatory to fight Badou Jack 21-1-1, 12 KO’s, should Jack defeat Lucian Bute 32-3, 25 KO’s at the tail end of this month. This is a fight we would relish and let’s be clear; Smith shall win it. Apart from DeGale in this division, I don’t think there is a better super middleweight out there. Once Smith has got a belt around his waist and had a few defenses, expect a big summer showdown in the UK in 2017 – James DeGale v Callum Smith.

So now we have dealt with the straight forward let’s get down to the absurd…

Once upon a time there was a big man who fought another big man. One was a traveller, the other known as a robot. The traveller won and collected a lot of belts from the robot. Before they fought, they agreed that they could meet again to fight again – if the robot lost. Because of this one of the groups that were in charge of one of the belts was not happy. They did not want the travelling man and the robotic man to meet again; they got hurt and took their belt back…

And so the travelling man, said stuff you – I don’t need you…

This group in charge of the belt did not care and kept their belt and asked a man with a powerful left fist and a European with a dodgy knee to be the next giants to fight for their belt. And so they did – and it came to pass that the dodgy knee gave up and the powerful left hand was raised in triumph.

And all across one land, every giant man, was rocking up a storm. For the giant man got famous, and the promotor got rich. Or so the fable was supposed to go…

For the IBF had a new problem. Ditching Tyson Fury 25-0, 18 KO’s, was supposed to be a good move because it meant they had another champ – one they could market. The problem was that the good old US of A already had a new heavyweight star – a certain MR. Wilder. They needed a guy who could fill the challenger’s shoes and fill their champion’s pockets with money. So they searched, and they searched, and they searched for about two minutes and asked one of the biggest box office sensations in the UK boxing scene if he would take on their champion. That boxing sensation had sold out their last fight in 90 seconds… 90 SECONDS!!!! SCARY!!!

Not really, the idea of their champion coming out of the good old US of A and whupping this boy’s ass was pure box office. Along the way, this bad boy, this boy of the ghetto, Charles Martin 23-0-1, 21 KO’s would get a massive payday and all would win…

So Anthony Joshua 15-0, 15 KO’s, Olympic Gold medallist and THE sensation of the British heavyweight boxing scene was top of their list. Joshua was young enough and on his way up, was a sculpted and undefeated sensation and most of all provided publicity, ticket sales and pay per view revenue.

That revenue should be huge because heavyweights are back in business. Since Fury won all those belts and had one unceremoniously taken off him by the IBF the heavyweight division has had a drug scandal in a world title fight, a second American heavyweight champion crowned, the return of the Hayemaker, someone called Briggs running all over Europe shouting, “Let’s Go Champ!” and the complete lack of a rematch between Fury and Wladimir Klitschko 64-4, 53KO’s which kicked this whole thing off!

A prediction? Joshua to win after 8 rounds – there shall be a stoppage – and then the IBF to realize that it was all a dream, try to find a house in Dallas where Bobby comes out of the shower so they can get some sleep and believe it wasn’t their fault in the first place…

[si-contact-form form=’2′]