Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
It didn’t last long, but on April 9, 2016, Anthony Joshua (16-0, 16 KOs) scored a second-round knockout victory against Charles Martin (23-1-1, 21 KOs) to win the IBF Heavyweight title at the 02 Arena in London, England.
The scheduled 12-round Heavyweight fight was televised on Showtime in the U.S.
Joshua, a 26-year-old native of the U.K, began the first round from his calm, orthodox stance. Joshua’s skill level was clear from the opening round as he exchanged tentative jabs with Martin, a southpaw.
Martin seemed to have trouble acclimating to the fight during the first round. Perhaps it was caused by the thousands of fans who were screaming Joshua’s name, or perhaps it was because Joshua was such a physical specimen, having an Olympic medal and an 100% knockout streak under is belt.
Martin found a home for his right hand in Round 1, landing them to the body and to the head of Martin.
In Round 2, Joshua landed two counter right hands that both sent Martin to the canvas. Martin, who fights out of Carson, California, took all the time in the world to make the second ten-count, forcing the referee to stop the fight.
With 2 knockdowns, Anthony Joshua stops Charles Martin in Round 2 to win the IBF Heavyweight title. #MartinJoshua pic.twitter.com/TQEju4c5yC
— RoundByRoundBoxing (@RBRBoxing) April 9, 2016
In his post-fight interview with Sky Sports, Joshua said that he won’t get carried away by his victory and will continue to improve.
“I’ve got to keep improving because we’ve got people like Haye calling me out, Tyson Fury calling me out–all of them. So, this is what we want to see, so I’ve got to improve if I’m going to maintain and keep on pushing to a higher level,” said Joshua.
Joshua changed the dynamic of the Heavyweight division with his victory tonight, a division with champions such as Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder.
It’ll be interesting to see how this all plays out in the future, but Fury will have to get through his rematch with Wladimir Klitschko and Wilder will have to get through Alexander Povetkin before any talk with Joshua can occur.
What did you think of Joshua’s victory? Let us know in the comments section.
Check out Joshua’s full post-fight video below, courtesy of Sky Sports:
Anthony Joshua Post-Fight Interview After Knocking Out Charles…
Anthony Joshua Post-Fight Interview After Knocking Out Charles Martin#Boxing #RBRBoxing #MartinJoshua #IBF #AndTheNew #RoundByRoundBoxing #Heavyweight
Posted by Round By Round Boxing on Saturday, April 9, 2016
