Last night, at the O2 Arena in London, Anthony Joshua made it nine wins out of nine with a two round demolition of the Russian Denis Bakhtov.
The win means that the exciting 24 year-old heavyweight has yet to go past three rounds and in a total of nine fights has boxed for 34 minutes and 30 seconds.
At the O2 Arena, Joshua was given a hero?s welcome as he entered the ring to take on an opponent who was, by all accounts, expected to give him a stiff test.
But the Russian was never given the chance to get to Joshua as the youngster kept his opponent at bay with his longer reach and powerful punches.
Joshua unloaded a barrage of punches in the fight, opening up a cut above the Russian?s eye and by the end of the first round it was clear that Joshua had his measure.
Bakhtov did catch Joshua with a decent punch but the youngster just brushed it aside and came back all guns blazing. One minute into the round Joshua had Bakhtov in trouble and after a flurry of punches the referee, John Lewis, stepped in to save the battered Russian from further punishment.
The win gave Joshua his first belt, the WBC International crown and the youngster will enter the ring at the Liverpool Echo Arena on the undercard of the Bellew v Cleverly fight.
Following another short night?s work, in his post-fight interview Joshua had the following to say,
?I have to spend 30 minutes doing pad work after that as I was scheduled for 10 rounds and only needed two.?
?I wanted to hurt him. He had never been stopped. I wanted to see what he could take, he?s a strong guy.?
And on his next fight, Joshua added,
?But it?s one step at a time. Fighting Michael Sprott could be phase two. My job is to put on a good fight for the people who come to see me.?
And last night you did exactly that Joshua.
Joshua Does the Business Again
