When a Superfight Delivers – The Aftermath of Joshua Klitschko

After an epic 11 round heavyweight battle, Boxing is left with a thrilling but conclusive ending, an old veteran to admire and a young champion to extol. Here are some of the main takeaways from one of the biggest fights to take place on British soil.

He may not be invincible but Anthony Joshua is for real

To be in a fight of this quality and drama only three and a half years into your professional career is only going to serve this next sporting superstar the world of good going forward .This was the best thing to happen to Anthony Joshua.

After a cagey opening where he appeared to edge rounds with a modest punch output and effective body punching, Joshua initiated a storm of chaos once he jumped off his stool to begin round five.

After dropping and having Klitschko on the edge of faltering, Joshua appeared to punch himself out and sent his fanbase into panic when he was dropped by a trademark Klitschko right cross in the following stanza.

With his heavy, musclebound physique, it was unlikely that Joshua would be able to find the extra gear needed to initiate another shift in momentum and win the fight.

After eating Klitschko jabs through rounds 7,8 and 9, Joshua caught a second wind in the 10th and in the 11th just like the 5th round, he initiated a storm of chaos once again, however this time, his veteran opponent found this particular wave too difficult to brave.

Two knockdowns later and a barrage across the ropes brought an end to the fight and sent 90,000 at Wembley into fever pitch.

Joshua was seriously hurt, masked up and “exposed”, but most importantly, he still emerged victorious. And having passed the mother of all acid tests, there is nothing but the potential for more entertaining fights with the ‘big 4’ in the foreseeable future.

His critics wanted him to earn his stripes and wanted him to fight the best – and on this night he killed two birds with one stone. You simply cannot buy these types of experiences in this sport.

Even in defeat, Wladimir Klitschko gave his legacy a major shot in the arm

The law of this land dictates that if you are veteran fighter who tries to tempt fate and halt the sport’s transition into an exciting new era, you should be typically met with disdain and pessimism.

The media did their best to facilitate the exits of Mayweather and Pacquiao from the sport to make way for new blood and Wladimir Klitschko was the subject of such efforts too, having been scathed for being the lifeless, cautious technician who solely drained the popularity out of the heavyweight division for the past decade.

But in the space of half an hour, this 41 year old flipped the script on his detractors. Klitschko boxed to a sound game plan, showed excellent footwork and athleticism and dug deep to come off the canvas in the fifth and nearly stun the home crowd into silence by stopping their national hero in that same round.

Anyone thinking the Ukrainian came to lay down was sorely mistaken from the get go. He went down fighting. The way you should do. The uppercut that he had to brave from Joshua which brought about his demise in the 11th would have sent most heavyweight’s heads to another dimension and resembled the uppercut his older brother Vitali braced against Lennox Lewis over a dozen years ago in Los Angeles.

Klitschko was not a victim of his fragility, but more a victim of his own pride. Referee David Fields saved him from himself in the 11th round, but Klitschko appeared more than willing to risk permanent damage in his pursuit of the moniker as a three time world heavyweight champion. Sometimes obsession drives an individual past their apparent limitations.

Will he have regrets? Absolutely – he will be rightly accused of not finishing off Joshua when he had him on the edge of a tightrope after knocking him down and his overzealous use of the left hook in the following rounds may have contributed to his eventual downfall. But on this occasion, this legendary champion should do nothing but hold his head high.

His resume is set in stone for the Hall of Fame, but this showing is one he can reflect on with pride and assurance come induction day.

So there is a rematch clause..

In the immediate aftermath, the slain Klitschko reminded the media that he had the right to exercise a rematch, as per the initial contracted deal. This was undoubtedly the best heavyweight bout in at least a decade and no-one will have strong objections to watching it again, but was the outcome definitive enough to see Klitschko bid farewell to the fight game and see Joshua move onto further tests?

Two major points stick out here. The ball is in Klitschko’s court - did the limits he pushed Joshua to give him enough confidence to believe that he could right his wrongs in a return bout? Possibly.

However, did the epic nature of this particular fight push Klitschko to his physical tipping point and subsequently closer to the inevitable trap door which graces every veteran? More than likely.

Klitschko need not be hasty to make a decision about whether to prolong his career and dance again with Joshua. Did he leave everything he had in that ring at Wembley? And is it worth overstaying your welcome to prove a point? Only he can answer all of these questions.

As it relates to the Heavyweight Division, All roads point to the UK

In all reality, the future of this sport’s most illustrious division was not on the line on this particular evening (despite the efforts of many to make it feel that way) – Joshua was either going to win or he was going to lose and learn (whilst remaining a top contender) and Klitschko was either going to end his tenure in the sport flat on his back or clutching the belts he held for a decade.

What an AJ win does do is reaffirm Britian’s tight stranglehold on the heavyweight landscape. This fight, built as the biggest in the nation’s history (certainly the most profitable) stands to be eclipsed rather swiftly , as the presence of Klitschko’s previous conqueror, Tyson Fury (still the man to beat in the eyes of many), serves to give Brit fans hope of a domestic fight which would captivate millions and transcend the sport in a way never seen before. Add this to the possibility of a David Haye Tony Bellew return outing , or even Bellew fighting for a version of the heavyweight title himself, then it is clear where all the intrigue and excitement lays here.

The division’s foreign protagonists know this. America's Deontay Wilder was in attendance this weekend, eager to prove his own legitimacy and gain notoriety in a new market. Whilst New Zealand’s Joseph Parker is fully aware that he will have to step out of home comfort to edge closer to star status and prove himself as a respected heavyweight player.

So if we are to give any credit to the powerful trifecta of the fighter Joshua, the promoter Eddie Hearn and the broadcaster Sky Sports for anything in particular it’s this – through good promotion, activity and star making events they have become the magnet which attracts the heavyweight talent towards their shores. And considering the deep roots this division has in America, that is not something to take for granted nor should it go without acknowledgement and praise.

The days of fighters requiring the allure of Madison Square Garden or the MGM Grand Garden Arena to cement legacies and garner serious bank now definitely seems a thing of the past.

And whilst you may debate Joshua’s standing in the division in terms of ability and potential, you cannot deny that, in terms of being an overall attraction, all roads at this point lead to him and his fellow countrymen.