It was the toughest fight for the 27-year-old British heavyweight fighter and the only bout in his pro career that lasted 11 rounds. Joshua has fought 19 times and won all by knockout. His longest fight before the Klitschko KO win was against Dominic Breazeale and Dillian Whyte which lasted seven rounds.
In the opening round, Joshua took the lead by outpointing Klitschko but the 41-year-old former heavyweight king from Ukraine took the second round with his own flurry of punches that found their mark.
Joshua took the third up to fifth rounds and was clearly ahead on points when he got floored in the sixth round giving Klitschko two points credit for the extra effort. After the knockdown Klitschko took the next two rounds to move up in the scorecards.
It could have been a close fight to score for the judges if Joshua failed to knock out Klitschko on or before the final round.
“(I’m) 19-0, three and a half years in the game,” Joshua said. “As I’ve said, I’m not perfect, but I’m trying. I dig deep. It is what it is. As I’ve said, if you don’t take part, you’ll never know the outcome,” he added.
Klitschko put up a good fight and he could have won if not for the 11th round KO. He praised and congratulated Joshua for his victory.
“Both fighters gave their best. The best man won tonight, and it’s amazing event for boxing,” Klitschko said. “Two gentlemen fought each other. Anthony was better today than I. It’s really sad that I didn’t make it tonight. I was planning to do it. It didn’t work. But all the respect to Anthony and congratulations,” he added.
It was one of the best heavyweight fights in recent years as both fighters gave out their best before the 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium.
Actor and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said in his Twitter post it was one of the most exciting fights he had ever seen.
“One of the most exciting fights I’ve ever seen. Congrats @anthonyfjoshua on the win & @Klitschko on amazing battle. Hope there’s a rematch,” he said.
