Anthony Joshua and Carlos Takam both suffered injuries early on in the highly publicized boxing match. In round two, an accidental clash of heads saw Anthony break his nose, while Takam took a hefty hook, which damaged his eye badly. Takam had multiple medics enter the ring to inspect him. However, he took it like a man and carried on until the end. Phil Edwards made the controversial decision to stop play in the 10th round when the 36-year old Takam was still standing, leading to a rowdy boo from the crowd and anger from Takam.
Anthony Joshua claims "I don't make the decisions"
In an interview immediately following the match, Joshua said that he had absolutely "no interest" in what the judges of the match decided. He went on to explain that he was there to Fight and he "doesn't sit on the edge and make decisions." He then said he thought people wanted to see Takam knocked out and that's what he was "trying to get done."
Both fighters showed the utmost respect for each other, even after the arguably poor decision was made. This is clear because Takam asked for a rematch, and he said "I want him, he is a great champion," this clearly shows he respects how Joshua fights. Joshua, on the other hand, said "It was a good fight until the ref stopped it," showing that he acknowledges Takam's efforts and how he put up a respectable fight.
A very interesting fight for the venue
It was certainly an interesting fight for the venue, which hasn't had a boxing match in just over ten years. It started off quite badly for Joshua's home crowd when his music failed to play while walking into the ring. In the fight, things started badly for Joshua, as his nose was broken from a devastating punch out of Takam.
Afterwards, it improved for the cheering crowd, when Joshua hurt the eye of the opponent, lifting the hopes of the onlooking crowd.
It was clear the crowd had immense respect for the Cameroon fighter, even though he was not the home favorite. When the fight ended, the crowd booed at the controversial decision from the referee.
Taking Joshua to a tenth round was also quite the achievement, considering the age and heights of both the characters.
Joshua young but making history
Joshua has now managed to get 20 fights under his belt, and his last two are reaching record attendances for boxing matches. It is clear his personality is becoming more popular and he is becoming more known in the growing sport.
Joshua has had to handle setbacks, such as Kubrat Pulev pulling out 2 weeks before, but this fight showed he can bounce back when he took out a man who has only been taking out inside the distance once before.
Joshua has kept his hopes alive of facing both WBC and WBO champions in the near future to maybe take the belt off of them, and add to his collection.
