Throwback: Joshua Defeats Klitschko In Classic Heavyweight Battle

THIS STORY WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON 29TH APRIL, 2017

AND still! Anthony Joshua has defended the IBF world title against Wladimir Klitschko while unifying the heavyweight division by collecting the vacant WBA [Super] and IBO world titles.

Joshua and Klitschko headlined Wembley Stadium this evening in front of a British record attendance as the Watford fighter comes through his toughest challenge.

90,000 fans filled the national football stadium, breaking the record previously held by Carl Froch and George Groves from their 2014 fight.

After claiming the IBF belt last year against Charles Martin, Joshua reeled off back-to-back successful defences against Dominic Breazeale and Eric Molina.

(The new face of heavyweight boxing. Image: PA)

And Joshua completed a hat-trick of defences against the Ukrainian in one of the greatest heavyweight bouts in recent memory.

The initial early rounds were cagey and tight, but AJ came out flying in the fifth, giving absolutely everything and exploding into Klitschko with a series of brutal strikes that cut him under his eye and left him on the deck.

Klitschko withstood the onslaught though and came back at AJ brilliantly as the round drew to a close.

In round six, Klitschko put Joshua on the canvas with a deadly right hand but the 27-year old got back up and completed the round.

Joshua got his second wind in the 11th round and went all out on the Ukrainian, putting him on the ground on two separate instances.

Klitschko could not contain Joshua and the referee was forced to step in and stop the fight, sending Wembley into a frenzy.

Klitschko was making his first return to the ring after being dethroned by Tyson Fury in 2015, and suffers his first consecutive loss in his professional career.

Meanwhile, Joshua maintains his perfect record while improving to 19 wins from 19 fights.

He well and truly arrived tonight with a star-making performance.

Heavyweight Division.

WBC - Deontay Wilder

WBO - Joseph Parker

Ring - Tyson Fury

Who's next for 'AJ'?

Tyson Fury is set to return to the sport following his hiatus away from boxing. Could a domestic mega-fight be on the cards? Joshua did a bit of a call-out to Fury in his post-fight interview, saying "Tyson Fury, where you at baby?!".

Amongst the 90,000 fans was American WBC title-holder Deontay Wilder, who was part of the Sky Sports punditry team for the fight. 'The Bronze Bomber' is seeking for a challenge and could get that in Joshua.

Image: PA

Tyson's cousin, Hughie, was set to take on Joseph Parker though sustained an injury preventing him from fighting the unbeaten Kiwi. The prospect of claiming another belt will be a tempting proposition for Team Joshua.

Topics: Boxing News, Anthony Joshua, Boxing, Wladimir Klitschko

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado, and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Michael Bisping and Anthony Joshua. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

@https://twitter.com/NasJabbar