Anthony Joshua vs. Gary Cornish: Winner, Recap and Reaction

Anthony Joshua is too good not to have a nickname. After his first-round destruction of previously undefeated Gary Cornish at the O2 Arena in his native London on Saturday, Joshua should be called the "90-Second Assassin."

It took just over a minute-and-a-half for Joshua to decimate what was considered to be his toughest professional challenge to date. How good is Joshua? Here's what Bad Left Hook's Tom Craze tweeted just before the fight began:

I hope Craze has fast fingers.

While Cornish was one of the few heavyweights capable of matching up with Joshua's 6'6" frame, the 6'7" giant from Scotland was overwhelmed by the 25-year-old prodigy's hand speed. As the two giants sized each other up in the opening moments of the bout, Joshua quickly separated himself from Cornish in the talent department.

A quick left-right combination found its mark. The shots landed on Cornish's chin and sent him to the mat just over 45 seconds into the fight. Cornish looked as intimidated by the speed of the shots as he was hurt by the power.

Fanatix shared the first of the two knockdowns:

Cornish reluctantly rose to his feet, but he wouldn't be there for long. Joshua landed another right hand to put Cornish down again. The latter got to his feet slowly but looked wobbly. The referee waved the rest of the fight off and got little argument from Cornish and his corner.

Most expected a slightly more competitive bout, but perhaps Joshua is this good.

Boxing Trivia Guy shared the round totals of Joshua's fights. It looks like the scorecard for a stellar 14 holes of golf:

The win set up an interesting clash between Joshua and Dillian Whyte—another promising undefeated British heavyweight—in December. Whyte won against Brian Minto with a third-round knockout earlier on the card.

Whyte is a big and talented heavyweight who is aptly known as "The Villain." He and Joshua have traded barbs over the past few months as their inevitable clash nears.

Whyte couldn't be a better matchup for Joshua, as the latter is one of the most likable fighters in the sport. If Joshua does to Whyte what he has done to each of his other opponents, a title fight would have to be next for him.

Lineal champion Wladimir Klitschko will face Tyson Fury in October, and WBC champion Deontay Wilder is probably going to pummel Johann Duhaupas on September 26. The winner of the first fight and Wilder better be on their games if they find themselves in the ring with Joshua in the future.

There are a few obstacles left for Joshua to climb before we can officially call him the next great heavyweight superstar, but no fighter in the world looks better equipped to become the next cash cow in the sport.

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