Las Vegas has long been boxing’s most aspirational platform, but the Anthony Joshua-Wladimir Klitschko fight in London may signal a shift in the sport’s commercial centre of gravityAnthony Joshua lingered in the ring at Wembley Stadium as midnight struck on Sunday morning, bathing in the afterglow of the famous night that saw him write his name indelibly into his country’s rich fistic lore. It had been more than an hour since the 27-year-old from Watford had come off the canvas to violently dispense of Wladimir Klitschko in the most gripping heavyweight title contest since the first bout between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson more than a generation ago, yet the former Olympic champion was content to delay his retreat to...
Wladimir Klitschko had Anthony Joshua on the canvas in sixth round – ‘I thought he wouldn’t get up’ – and Ukrainian is unsure over a rematchNo heavyweight champion in history has achieved so much, yet been admired so little, as Wladimir Klitschko. During a career spanning two decades and 29 world title fights the man known as Dr Steelhammer has accumulated many victories and championship belts – and even more jibes about being merely an automaton with a pummelling left jab and a crushing right hand. Yet, as the 41-year-old addressed the 90,000 crowd at Wembley following his brave defeat to Anthony Joshua on Saturday, he was greeted with something both rare and welcome: a thunderous outpouring of affection and...
The crowd had the privilege of sharing in an electric feeling unmatched in sport as they lived every second of a brutal, seesawing, enthralling fightSomehow, at the end of this brutal, seesawing, whirligig of a fight, Anthony Joshua still had the energy to stand on the ring apron, revel in the glorious applause of 90,000 people and pound his chest in triumph. The rest of us were left breathless after one of the greatest heavyweight fights in a generation.Beforehand everyone was playing guessing games about how much Klitschko had left at 41. The last time he had fought, against Tyson Fury in November 2015, he had still looked as sculpted as a Greek statue – but was about as mobile....
Kell Brook’s trainer looks at where Saturday’s Wembley sellout world heavyweight title fight between Anthony Joshua and the 41-year-old Wladimir Klitschko may be won and lostI am not convinced, as many people seem to be, that Anthony Joshua will blast through Wladimir Klitschko. Of course, it could happen. But if Klitschko has anything left in the tank, I expect him to drag Joshua deeper into the trenches than ever before. The Ukrainian may even be able to spring a surprise late on – if he can navigate the early rounds.I know that puts me in the minority. But I keep wondering whether too much has been made of Klitschko’s defeat by Tyson Fury. Yes, he looked awful that night: slow...
Doc Holliday says the heavyweight champion can ‘earn a billion’ as the Joshua camp insist the days of fighting patsies are well and truly overFor Anthony Joshua, the easy nights are over. His third‑round blowout of the reluctant Eric Molina in Manchester on Saturday night to retain his IBF world heavyweight title, while again disappointing fans who want to see him in a proper fight, has nevertheless thrust him into boxing’s stratosphere.Doc Holliday, a seasoned boxing face from America who accompanied Molina in the absence of the Texan’s promoter, Don King, predicted Joshua would “earn a billion” from boxing. Well, extrapolating from the £15m he and Wladimir Klitschko might have earned had the Ukrainian been his opponent on Saturday night (as...