Charles Martin vs. Anthony Joshua: Fight Time, Date, TV Info and Preview
Is Anthony Joshua really ready to fight at world level? Does Charles Martin really deserve to be a world champion?
Both questions will be answered on Saturday, when the two heavyweights collide at a sold-out O2 Arena in London.
American Martin (23-0-1, 21 KOs) will put his IBF belt on the line against Joshua, Britain's brightest boxing star, who has managed 15 straight knockout wins so far in his pro career.
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Matchroom Boxing presented a tale of the tape on Twitter:
The bout is the headline act on a pay-per-view card that includes defences for British world champions Jamie McDonnell and Lee Selby at bantamweight and featherweight respectively.
George Groves is also in action—taking on David Brophy for the vacant WBA International super middleweight strap—and there is an intriguing domestic fight at middleweight between Matthew Macklin and Brian Rose.
Bleacher Report will be running a live blog of the action from around 8 p.m. BST (3 p.m. ET).
When: Saturday, April 9, 10 p.m. BST (5 p.m. ET)
Where: 02 Arena, London
TV: Sky Sports Box Office (UK—pay-per-view channel), Showtime (US)
Prince Charles' Reign
A well-used idiom suggests you have to be good to be lucky. Martin was certainly fortunate in the way he picked up a title that was stripped from Tyson Fury.
Fighting Vyacheslav Glazkov in January, the American was the beneficiary of his opponent suffering a serious knee injury in Round 3. Now, against Joshua, we might find out if the champion is actually any good.
The southpaw, originally from St. Louis but now based in California, only turned pro in October 2012.
He had done little of note before getting the chance to face Glazkov, but he is determined to prove he isn't a flash-in-the-pan champion. He told Sky Sports News HQ (h/t Peter Gilbert of SkySports.com): "I'm here to stay, it ain't a game, I came this far and I'm going to keep it going.
"I came too far, my whole life has been changed. I've turned my whole life around, anyone can turn their life around if you're heading down the wrong path or you're not happy with where you are if life, only you can make the change."
Martin has at least carried himself like a champion during the build-up.
He has talked the talk, telling Jeff Powell of the Daily Mail: "Yeah, Joshua does have power but that’s all he’s got. When that doesn’t work there’s nowhere else to go. And how’ he going to land on me? I’m sooooo….elusive."
However, it is time to find out if Martin can walk the walk.
He's yet to fight a top-level opponent (although the same goes for his challenger) and the cynics will suggest this bout is just a chance for him to cash in on his sudden status.
USA Today boxing journalist Mike Coppinger pointed out how the move made perfect sense on Twitter:
Yet Martin should not be overlooked just because of his limited CV. He is a 6'5" southpaw with an 88 per cent knockout ratio, per BoxRec.
For many years in England, Prince Charles (heir to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II) has been waiting to reign. America's boxing version only has to wait until Saturday to prove he deserves to wear his crown.
National Hero
Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua has charmed British boxing fans to the point where a crowd would willingly gather to watch him do his weekly supermarket shop.
A full house turned up at the famous York Hall in Bethnal Green, London, just to see the heavyweight go through a light media workout on Monday:
The 26-year-old became a national hero the moment he struck gold at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
His progress in the paid ranks has been smooth—he has knocked out every opponent put in his way, and his career has spanned a grand total of 32 rounds.
The road did become a little bumpy against Dillian Whyte last time out. For the first time, Joshua had a foe willing to stand and fight, rather than just look to survive.
Whyte—who had beaten Joshua in their amateur days—had his rival in a spot of bother in Round 2 but eventually went the same way as the rest. He was stopped after being dropped in Round 7.
In the aftermath, Joshua admitted he was still a work in progress.
He said at the post-fight press conference, per David Anderson of the Mirror: "Everyone has got a lot of expectation. The plan is still to move on to world title level, but we will do it in our own time."
That plan was ripped up the moment a fight against Martin became a real possibility. This is a potential shortcut to the top.
The Englishman will be facing a southpaw for the first time as a pro. However, it is hardly a step into the unknown.
He came up against plenty of them in his amateur career, including Italian Roberto Cammarelle, the man he defeated in the Olympic final four years ago.
As per usual, Joshua is in great physical shape for his world-title tilt:
He also appears to be mentally strong too, writing in his blog for the Evening Standard:
"I do believe I am in a different league to him [Martin]. That’s not being dismissive, I just know that the work and training I put in makes me better than him. I push and push and I squeeze the best out of myself in every single session I do. I think if we trained alongside each other, people would say I was the man, not him.
"
Joshua has looked every inch a future world champion so far. He is media friendly and full of smiles until the first bell sounds.
It is a risk jumping into a world-title fight at this stage of his development, but the reward makes the gamble worthwhile.
Prediction
Both men have made a habit of winning inside the distance, so the main event at the O2 is unlikely to require the three judges at ringside to tot up their scores.
Both are also relatively untested, suggesting it could be a case of whoever lands the first big shot being the one to walk away with the title.
If you want to draw a comparison, the pair have one opponent in common: Raphael Zumbano Love. Martin knocked him out in Round 10. Joshua, in contrast, needed just over four minutes to do the same.
With little other hard evidence to rely on, Joshua has to be backed for victory.
In front of a sold-out crowd, he will become Britain's ninth heavyweight world champion in the history of the sport.
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