Anthony Joshua wasn't perfect, but he fought Carlos Takam with a patience, brain and care that shows he is maturing
Joshua could have jabbed more, switched to the body a few rounds earlier and needs to polish his long right hands, but this was a test he has seldom faced in his unblemished 20-fight career
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Your support makes all the difference.Anthony Joshua injured his nose, boxed with the sense he has often lacked and finally broke the desire of Carlos Takam in front of just under 80,000 on Saturday night at the Principality Stadium in the middle of Cardiff.
There was a mild dispute at the end in round ten as the Frenchman, soaked in his own blood from two deep cuts on either brow, protested the stoppage. However, he had lost the nine completed rounds, had been dropped in the fourth, his blood had stained every available surface in the ring and he had narrowly escaped inspections from the ringside doctors. It was a bruising lost cause and Takam left the ring a hero in a city that loves a fight.
Joshua fought with a patience, brain and care that he has seldom had to display in his brief career of 20 fights. There is an argument that he should have imposed his bulk, jumped all over Takam and gone ferociously in search of an early win against the late replacement. It is a flawed argument because nobody quite understood how tough Takam would be and Joshua responded to the apparently immovable obstacle with a controlled boxing display.
It was not a perfect performance and the muted celebrations in his corner at the end of the fight seem to highlight the many questions he left open; he could have jabbed more, could have switched to the body a few rounds earlier and he certainly needed to polish his long right hands. Takam was the right man to catch Joshua in the ring on Saturday night, offering his large, hard head, even larger heart but little real risk of pulling off a shock. And, yes, a fit, motivated Tyson Fury would have beaten him on Saturday night but Fury has not fought since November 2015 and his inclusion on any list of future opponents is now looking more like a fantasy fight than one people can actually pay to watch. It might be one of the great fights that never happens and that would be truly sad.
“I had to adjust, calm down and get the job done,” said Joshua. “It was about not taking too many risks and getting the win, staying unbeaten.” He wanted a clean stoppage, which was unlikely from the first bell, but settled on a calculating display. It was impressive in subtle ways – not often you say that about a heavyweight – and nobody should need to be reminded that Joshua can stop people, but it is always nice to watch him think and move. It was not a great hitless mazurka either, and Takam did dance the awful boogie men perform when they are upright but not in control of their senses on several occasions.
Joshua had to repeatedly expel a shower of blood from his mouth after a savage crack on his nose in round two from Takam’s head. The blood flow was deep and dark and interfered with his breathing. Joshua, somewhat glumly, revealed that the nose was not broken, just bruised, and admitted that the blood, which was running down his throat, had been a nuisance.
Most of the 78,000 people probably missed the red mist he kept blowing, but from ringside it was clear it bothered him and obviously made him box with a lot of care. It was still an old-fashioned blood-drenched brawl with a knockdown, heavy punches and wild swings.
If Fury gets back in the gym, drops six stone and starts to resemble the towering fighter of old, the previously clear lines between reality and a fantasy fight will be dblurre
As I left the stadium to navigate the electric streets of the midnight city I was shocked to hear a few people moaning that the fight had gone so long. I can assure you that back in April Wladimir Klitschko took far fewer fearsome punches from Joshua than Takam absorbed on Saturday night. The Frenchman might smile a lot but taking punishment like that is no laughing matter.
There will be bold talk in the next few months of getting the other two world champions to Britain to continue the run of stadium fights. Joseph Parker, the WBO champion, and the WBC’s Deontay Wilder will both do their best to hold Joshua, who has the IBF and WBA belts, and his people to ransom. It is the boxing way, sadly. Joshua wants to become the first heavyweight to hold all four major belts and it would be great for the boxing business if Parker and Wilder agree deals; if Fury, who is only a year older than Joshua, gets back in the gym, drops six stone and starts to resemble the towering fighter of old, then the previously clear lines between reality and a fantasy fight will be blurred.
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