At the Principality Stadium, in Cardiff, Anthony Joshua successfully defended his WBA and IBF heavyweight titles against a determined and gallant Carlos Takem.
Taking the fight at 12-days? notice, Takam put on a brave display to take Joshua into the 10th round before the fight was stopped by the referee, although the timing of the stoppage was subject to debate afterwards with many feeling Takem should have been allowed to carry on.
Fighting a substitute opponent, Joshua didn?t look at his best, having trouble hitting his shorter opponent who made himself as difficult as possible to hit.
Matters weren?t helped when there was an accidental clash of heads, in the second round, a clash that saw Joshua come off the worst with the champion suffering a broken nose that bled profusely.
Joshua thought he had his man when in round four, the best of the fight so far, a heavy hook saw Takem drop to the canvas, but the challenge showed his mettle by beating the count and continuing to frustrate the champion.
Takem was then cut above the eye by a slashing punch by Joshua, with the cut bleeding profusely the referee asked the ringside doctor to judge whether the cut was bad enough to stop the fight.
Given the go-ahead to continue, Takem continued to take some heavy shots from Joshua but wasn?t afraid to throw a few of his own. A further cut further damaged Takems chances of victory and when Joshua unleashed a barrage of punches in the tenth round the referee, Phil Edwards, steppe din to halt the fight.
Although Takem was trapped on the ropes and taking some heavy shots, he didn?t look in any danger of being knocked out and the stoppage brought some booing from the Vardiff crowd.
Following the stoppage, Joshua had this to say as he made if 20 wins out of 20, all inside the distance,
‘I come to fight. I don’t sit on the edge and make decisions.
‘It was a good fight until the ref stopped it, so I have the utmost respect for Takam.
‘People want to see Takam unconscious on the floor, and that’s what I was trying to get to.’
Whereas Takem, who deserves to be applauded for his contribution to the fight, commented,
‘I want a rematch. I made my preparations with 12 days to fight Anthony. I want to box him again. I want him. He is a great champion.’
Will Takem get a re-match, as a late substitute I suspect not.
Joshua Stops Takem in Round 10
