Anthony Joshua 16-0-0 at the O2 Arena, London England has made short work of Charles Martin now 23-1-1 knocking him out in the second round of their IBF Heavyweight championship bout.
In the first round Joshua came out looking to be the aggressor and caught a cautious Martin with a number of right hands. Martin a southpaw replied in kind with a left hand down the chute but it was Joshua who was clearly the aggressor in moving forward trying to engage a wary Martin.
Everyone has an opinion on tonight’s intriguing Charles Martin-Anthony Joshua fight. A genuine 50-50 affair in the opinion of many – including A.J’s promoter Eddie Hearn – the IBF title fight will set the winner up for some huge fights. One of these potential blockbusters awaiting tonight’s winner is a unification clash with unbeaten KO King Deontay Wilder, the reigning WBC champion.
Wilder, of course, has to take care of the formidable Alexander Povetkin in Russia first, but as long as he takes care of business, Wilder would be willing to defend his belt, and look to pick up another title, against either Martin or Joshua.
Charles Martin – 245 Pounds
Anthony Joshua – 244 Pounds
When Tyson Fury upset long – reigning champion, Wladimir Klitschko last November to win the lineal heavyweight championship, it immediately injected new life into a division in need of life. Okay, so it wasn’t exactly George Foreman taking Joe Frazier’s lunch money or Larry Holmes and Ken Norton beating each other up with the rusted links of the evolutionary chain.
It was more like the first microbes that crawled from the primordial ooze of the earth’s beginnings. Nothing exciting, I’d assume but it was a start and that always leads to somewhere, even if it takes the craziest route, which is exactly what happened.
Read moreThe Heavyweight Division and Much – Needed (hopefully) Clarity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvmVd3v1glg
The final press conference before the heavily hyped IBF heavyweight title clash between Charles Martin and Anthony Joshua took place today and both undefeated men appeared and sounded confident. Joshua had more to say than did a somewhat subdued Martin, but both fighters are sure they will get the win on Saturday night.
Read moreAnthony Joshua: We’re here to go to war. Charles Martin: London will be mine
Ø ‘Prince’ Charles Martin’s odds cut from 5/1 to 7/2 to defend world title
Ø Anthony Joshua’s odds pushed out from 1/8 to 2/9 to beat the ‘Prince’
Ø 72% of bets on the outcome of the fight placed on a C Martin KO win
Charles Martin
My stay in the UK so far has been very good. You know, the people are very nice to me. And we’re just finishing up with the workouts and just staying sharp now, winding down, getting stronger again. And basically we’re ready to (go).
Question
Charles, when the fight came up between yourself and Anthony, what was it that made you decide to immediately, well, throw caution to the wind and go to his hometown and fight the guy that many people think is the next superstar in the heavyweight division?
Anthony Joshua (15-0) will challenge Charles Martin (23-0-1) for his IBF heavyweight title this Saturday. Tyson Fury was stripped of the title after he refused to fight the mandatory challenger Vyacheslav Glazkov due to his contractual obligation to fight Klitcshko and Charles Martin fought Glazkov for the vacant strap. Glazkov quit with a leg injury and Martin was awarded a TKO win.
Imagine if Twitter had been around when Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier were caught up in THE grudge-match series to end all grudge-match series. Back then, in the 1970s, fighters had to make do with up close and personal verbal attacks on one another when it came to attempts at shifting tickets and scoring mental points over your opponent. Ali and Frazier met in a number of staged taunting sessions, with the two all-time greats also engaging in some over the telephone exchanges. But today, fighter A can get well and truly under the skin of fighter B without even having to move out of his armchair.
Participating on an international teleconference today to further promote this Saturday night’s fight with defending IBF heavyweight champ Charles Martin, London’s Anthony Joshua predicted he will win the fight by KO inside six rounds. Joshua, 15-0(15) also said that while he is the current betting favorite, he considers himself to be the underdog and is mentally prepared and motivated as such.
Read moreAnthony Joshua gives his pre-fight prediction ahead of Charles Martin fight: Six Rounds
