Anthony Joshua vs Charles Martin report: Joshua crowned IBF heavyweight champion after two round destruction
It was a controlling and dominant performance at the o2 Arena
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Your support makes all the difference.Anthony Joshua secured the IBF world heavyweight title after destroying American Charles Martin in two rounds at the o2 Arena in London.
Dominant and in control for the fight, Joshua put Martin down twice in the second round with impeccably-timed stiff rights, before the referee stepped in to halt the fight.
The fight was the 2012 Olympic super-heavyweight gold medallist Joshua's first tilt a world title. He had knocked out all 15 of his previous opponents, and comfortably added Martin to that list.
The defeat was the first of Martin's (23-1-1) career. The 29-year-old had won the title back in January after his opponent, Vyacheslav Glazkov, was forced out of their fight in the third round after suffering a cruciate ligament injury.
Joshua was quick to mention fellow British world heavyweight champion and verbal sparring partner Tyson Fury following his triumph. Fury, who holds the WBA portion of the heavyweight championship after his win over Wladmir Klitschko back in November, was stripped of the IBF title that Joshua won.
"I've got big respect but I want to do more," the 26-year-old Joshua told BBC Sport at the o2 Arena.
"Let's put that bad boy away with the Olympic medal and go get some more.
"I'm going to walk through Fury when he's ready. I mean business and I'm here to stay."
Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn revealed after the bout that Joshua's next fight will be on 9 July, the same night as Fury's rematch with Klitschko in Manchester.
Fury wrote on Twitter after the fight:
On the undercard, Doncaster's Jamie McDonnell defended his WBA bantamweight title with a ninth-round stoppage of Fernando Vargas in an impressive display, wearing his opponent down in the later stages.
Lee Selby recovered from the first knockdown of his career to defeat American Eric Hunter by a unanimous decision and retain his IBF featherweight title. Hunter put Selby down in the second with a strong left hook, before 'The Welsh Mayweather' Selby showed off his skills to bamboozle his temperamental opponent.
Three-time world title challenger George Groves took four rounds to hand Scotsman David Brophy the first loss of his career. A brutal body shot connected for Groves, who called out fellow British super-middleweights Calum Smith and Martin Murray after his win.
Conor Benn, the 19-year-old son of the 'Dark Destroyer' Nigel Benn, won his professional debut with a first-round victory over Ivailo Boyanov. A devastating body shot signalled the end for his Bulgarian opponent.
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