After A Rough Start, Anthony Joshua Stops Alexander Povetkin In Round Seven!
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By Rich “Lite It Up” Lopez
After last weekend’s exciting Canelo/”GGG” II fight, the attention this weekend was focused on the heavyweight division. In particular, all eyes were set on global superstar Anthony Joshua who was defending his WBO, IBF, and WBA Heavyweight titles against Alexander Povetkin. Anthony Joshua was coming off a victory over Joseph Parker back in March, in which Joshua went to distance for the first time. Povetkin, like Joshua, was also an Olympic gold medalist and fought some of the best fighters in the heavyweight division as a professional. Povetkin’s only loss was to Wladimir Klitschko on points back in 2013. Povetkin for sure was a solid test for Joshua and a very dangerous opponent. Once again, 80,000 people were in hand at Wembley Stadium to see their hero Joshua. The fight was promoted by Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing and streamed live on DAZN.
As the fight started, both fighters were feeling each other out. Povetkin was moving forward while Joshua was taking his time throwing the jab. The 1st round was even, until Povetkin let his hands go. He landed a left jab followed by a right uppercut and left hook that backed up Joshua. The combination bloodied Joshua’s nose. In round two, Joshua came out throwing his jab to get even from the first round, but Povetkin fired back with quick combinations again. Povetkin would go forward and was successful landing the right hand on Joshua. Joshua was continuing throwing his jabs but Povetkin was busier. In round three, Povetkin went back to his combinations. He landed a right hand followed by a left jab. Joshua was trying to land some shots of his own, but was missing his target. In the beginning of the 4th round, Povetkin went forward and landed a right hand on Joshua but Joshua came back with a right hand that cut Povetkin’s right eye.
After that, there was little action for the rest of the round but Povetkin was still the busier fighter. Round five was more of the same for Povetkin. He was putting the pressure and backing up Joshua with quick power shots. Joshua seemed frustrated with the style of Povetkin. However the momentum was about to change. Finally in round six, Joshua started to let his hands go. He was landing his jabs and boxing better. Joshua also landed a good right hand on Povetkin. In round seven, Joshua was more loose and pumping the jab again. All of sudden in the midpoint of the round, Joshua landed a huge right hand that hurt Povetkin. This was followed by a left hook and a right hand that dropped Povetkin. Povetkin showed a lot of heart and got up to his feet, but the end was near. Joshua came out swinging with punches and landed a big right hand that dropped Povetkin again. This prompted the ref to stop the fight. At the same time, Povetkin’s corner had also jumped in the ring to stop the fight. Once again Anthony Joshua scored a stoppage victory with the official time of 1:59 of the 7th round.
Anthony Joshua once again showcased why he is one of the best heavyweights today. In my opinion, he was behind on points, but came back like a real champion and won the fight. He also beat a top heavyweight that would give any heavyweight fighter a tough fight. As for Povetkin, I would like to see him again against any of the top heavyweights as he put a great effort today. A set date for Joshua has been set for April 13th, 2019 at Wembley Stadium again, but against who? Of course all fight fans are hoping it would be Deontay Wilder, but we will have to wait for the result between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury on December 1st. For now the night belongs to Anthony Joshua.
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