Anthony Joshua vs. Gary Cornish: Lessons Learned from the O2 Card in London
Anthony Joshua picked up the Commonwealth title in a hurry on Saturday, stopping Gary Cornish in the first round at the O2 Arena in London.
Joshua improved his career record to 14-0, with all of his wins coming inside the distance.
He knocked down Cornish—who had an unbeaten record before running into the 2012 Olympic champion—twice, with the referee deciding the Scotsman was in no fit state to continue after his second trip to the canvas.
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After the quick win, Bleacher Report picked out some of the talking points from the main event on the Matchroom Boxing card, as well as took a peek into the future.
Rapid-Fire Round
It was short and sweet. Well, it was if your name wasn't Cornish.
Joshua didn’t waste much time in collecting his second professional title. Picking up the WBC international strap by beating Kevin Johnson earlier in the year was nice, but the Commonwealth belt carries a little more gravitas.
Big, brave and unbeaten coming into the fight, Cornish was seen as having the potential to provide a test for Joshua.
Instead, the Londoner Joshua recorded his third-fastest win to date (he stopped Matt Legg in 83 seconds, while Michael Sprott lasted 86 in November 2014).
As odd as it may seem, Cornish deserves some praise in defeat. He did not cower away from the challenge, coming out to the centre of the ring and looking to land his own punches.
Even Joshua admitted the Scotsman’s jab was a dangerous weapon in the aftermath, telling Sky Sports: "Credit to Gary where credit is due. He's a big man with a good jab. It's a 12-round fight so I wasn't trying to dish it all out in the first round but I found the shots to end it."
However, the problem with an aggressive approach is it leaves you open to shots coming back the other way.
Cornish found that out to his cost—he did well to get up from the first knockdown but didn’t last too much longer.
After a 14th straight KO triumph, Joshua's status as a power puncher continues to grow. It will be fascinating to see if he can do similar damage to better opponents than Cornish.
Whyte To Fight
Dillian Whyte will be the next man up for Joshua. Promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed that the two would meet on December 12 for the British title, tweeting the show will be called "Bad Intentions" and staged at the O2.
However, the clash of the two Londoners is about more than just a domestic crown.
Whyte happened to hand his rival a rare defeat when they were in the amateurs. You can take a look at that fight, courtesy of footage posted on YouTube:
Although that was a long time ago, Whyte—like Joshua—is unbeaten as a pro. He moved to 16-0 with a second-round stoppage of Brian Minto on the undercard on Saturday.
The 27-year-old's performance against the American wasn’t particularly impressive. Minto was game but undersized and unable to seize on his opponent's rather dubious defence. Whyte revealed afterward he was hampered by a shoulder injury, per Scott Gilfoid of Boxing News 24.
Still, his antics at the pre-fight presser, when he called Joshua a “housewife” and labelled him a fake, have helped to build the interest in the rematch in the paid ranks. There is friction between the pair, and Whyte was working for Sky Sports at ringside when Joshua fought Cornish. He was one of the few who witnessed the demolition job and wasn't getting carried away by all the hype.
Moving On Up
While Whyte has been announced as Joshua’s next opponent, the evidence suggests the latter does not need to be mixing it up at the domestic level for much longer.
Stepping up early certainly did David Haye no harm.
Beginning his career in the cruiserweight division, Haye made rapid progress to secure a shot at Carl Thompson for the IBO world title in just his 11th bout in 2010.
In the early stages it looked like The Hayemaker would complete his rapid rise by becoming a world champion. But, despite his dominance, he couldn’t put the canny Thompson away.
The younger fighter punched himself out in pursuit of another quick win. Tiring as every minute ticked by, he was eventually stopped in Round 5.
Now, there is nothing to suggest Joshua will suffer the same fate as Haye, who bounced back from the setback to become a two-weight world champion.
Would Haye have achieved the same level of success had he not come up against Thompson so early in his career? Possibly. But the defeat opened his eyes as to what was required to succeed at the top level.
You sense that Joshua could do with the same kind of exposure. He only has 14 fights on his resume, and he and his team are doing nothing wrong with their approach, as Laceupboxing suggested on Twitter:
But it might be of greater long-term benefit to start pitching him in at the deeper end. Find him a heavyweight of genuine experience and see how he copes.
Tris Dixon on Twitter suggested a list of potential opponents for 2016:
Joshua needs to add a name, someone who has had international success, to his CV. And if he happens to lose, it wouldn't spell the end of the dream.
Perhaps, even Haye could be the ideal candidate to face his compatriot. He is ready to make a return to the ring, telling Sky Sports News HQ: "I've been really working on my foundations so when I do make this comeback I don't have to have six months to a year between fights, recovering from injuries."
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