Anthony Joshua beats Wladimir Klitschko: The perfect outcome

Anthony Joshua rallied from a knockdown to halt former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in the eleventh round of a heavyweight classic, signalling the official start of a new era in boxing’s glamor division.

It was a fight worthy of the 90,000 fans who packed into London’s Wembley Stadium for a historic night in the boxing-mad United Kingdom — a perfect evening for a self-sabotaging sport struggling to emerge from a heavyweight Dark Age. Both combatants — future Hall of Famer Wladimir Klitschko (64-5, 53 KOs), and Anthony Joshua (19-0, 19 KOs), the division’s new standard-bearer — dutifully played their roles in a drama befitting the spectacle.

So much was right about Joshua-Klitschko, from the almost unbearable tension only two elite punchers can produce to the multiple momentum swings that yielded a handful of knockdowns and the explosive finish that saw the emerging force batter the rejuvenated legend in one of boxing’s most important time-honored traditions.

In defeat, Klitschko, who presided over the aforementioned heavyweight Dark Age, wrote an important new chapter of a legacy that before the Joshua fight was long on irrefutable statistical facts but short on iconic moments. While much of the post Joshua-Klitschko discussion should focus on Joshua’s seemingly limitless future, Klitschko’s role in the proceedings should not be overlooked.

More than providing a foil for Joshua’s ascent, Klitschko accomplished two crucial things in failing to regain a portion of the heavyweight title. He erased the bitter memory of his timid defeat to Tyson Fury, and he fought, against arguably the most dangerous opponent of his career given his advanced age, with the kind of gumption and passion only seen in glimpses throughout his historic title reign.

Klitschko’s loss, in a sense, is the perfect capstone to a career largely defined by technical and robotic dominance. Against Fury, Klitschko malfunctioned; against Joshua, Klitschko was fallible, which ironically highlighted some of his greatest virtues.

Klitschko rose from a fifth-round knockdown to floor Anthony Joshua a round later. In the eleventh stanza, he absorbed a right uppercut that would have decapitated any mere mortal and shockingly only went down after a follow-up barrage and delayed reaction. And then he rose, only to get flattened by another Joshua fusillade. In ultimately getting stopped on his feet, Klitschko finally engendered pathos. No longer was he a specimen of a fighter — such was the painful swiftness of his demise after nearly conquering a herculean challenge.

And then there’s Joshua, who still has a long way to go if he hopes to match the accomplishments of the man he bested. What cannot be denied, though, is that Joshua is on the verge of becoming a true crossover star in a sport that now produces few. More importantly, almost every lingering question about him was answered.

Before the Klitschko fight, Joshua had never been extended past seven rounds. His previous opponents, to put it mildly, weren’t worthy of carrying a prime Klitschko’s water bottle. Despite getting wobbled by amateur rival Dillian Whyte (his only truly credible foe), Joshua’s punch resistance remained unknown. And no one knew if Joshua possessed the boxing IQ to make tactical adjustments or the moxie to deal with genuine adversity.

Needless to say, Joshua put all these lingering doubts to rest, even if that means he’s hardly a perfect fighter or finished product. He showed he has the recuperative powers and strength to score a stoppage in the championship rounds of gruelling fight; he proved he can rise from the canvas following getting floored and badly hurt; and after seeming utterly gassed and ready to succumb to Klitschko, Joshua exhibited championship intangibles that can only surface in situations that require extreme displays of resolve.

An interesting post-Joshua-Klitschko point of debate is Fury’s boast that he toyed with Klitschko, whereas Joshua was forced to fight his way back from the brink. Indeed, Fury outboxed Klitschko and hardly picked up a scratch, but it’s also true that Joshua faced a different version of the great Ukrainian. Fury does indeed deserve credit for his win, but in no way should it diminish Joshua’s.

But forget Fury for a minute, even if the prospect of him getting back into shape and fighting Anthony Joshua is tantalizing. The outcome of Joshua-Klitschko, a leading Fight of the Year contender, was perfect. Klitschko enhanced his legacy in noble defeat, and Joshua can move forward as the heavyweight to beat in a division that boasts some intriguing young talent and potential future rivals.

Next: Anthony Joshua-Wladimir Klitschko highlights

Klitschko may indeed gun for a rematch. Such is his right. But a fighter in his position who loses by knockout rarely improves on his performance in a return bout. Joshua-Klitschko reminded fans of the excitement, heartbreak, and sportsmanship that’s unique to boxing to such an extent that it has ironically rendered a rematch almost irrelevant. Should Klitschko retire, it could serve as the most valuable lesson of the many he’s taught Joshua, who has taken the first step on a path that could one day make him worthy of playing the part Klitschko did at the end of his career.