Charles Martin vs. Anthony Joshua: Lessons Learned from the O2 Arena in London
Anthony Joshua became Britain's ninth heavyweight world champion on Saturday, dethroning Charles Martin in a hurry to claim the IBF title at the O2 Arena in London.
Crowd favourite Joshua knocked out his American opponent in Round 2. The quick victory meant he has won all 16 of his fights as a pro inside the distance.
Also on the pay-per-view card, Lee Selby overcame an early knockdown to retain his IBF featherweight title against Eric Hunter. WBA bantamweight champion Jamie McDonnell successfully defended his belt, beating Fernando Vargas by TKO in Round 9.
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Throw in a stoppage win for George Groves and a professional debut for Conor Benn—son of two-weight world champion Nigel Benn—and you had quite a night in the English capital.
Bleacher Report has picked out some of the key talking points from the bill:
The New King
All hail Joshua, the IBF’s new king.
Victory at the O2 didn’t really reveal too much we didn’t already know about the 26-year-old. His accuracy, combined with the power of his punches, means he can dismiss opponents who are not up to standard.
As the new champion often says himself in interviews, it's all about levels. Joshua was on a completely different one to Martin, a man who was handed a world title when Vyacheslav Glazkov suffered a serious knee injury during their bout for the vacant strap in January.
There will be those who still doubt Joshua's credentials at the highest level. Tyson Fury—a potential opponent somewhere down the line—wasn't impressed by what he saw:
Joshua still doesn’t have a leading name on his list of victims after beating an opponent who was ripe for the picking.
The plan wasn’t perhaps to be in a world title fight so soon, but you don't pass up such opportunities because they fail to fit into the original plan. Joshua has already collected the British and Commonwealth titles in his short pro career. Now he holds the IBF belt too.
Yet it still seems we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Joshua's potential.
He admits as much himself, telling Sky Sports Box Office (h/t BBC Sport) straight after the fight: "There's still a lot of work to be done. I've done two rounds, so I'll go to the changing rooms and work on the pads.
"I've got people like David Haye and Tyson Fury calling me out so I need to keep improving. Every fight gets better and better. I want to give value for money and I appreciate the ongoing support of the fans."
If Joshua wants to give value for money, he should stop demolishing opponents in a hurry. Perhaps the answer is to get a series of fighters to face him on the same night, one after another. Think of it like boxing's version of a Royal Rumble.
Of course, there are heavyweights out there who could pose him problems. But Joshua is smart enough to learn from every experience he has in the ring and always hits hard enough to get himself out of sticky situations.
The fans, meanwhile, don't seem to care how long it takes to see a knockout. They love him, and so too should the other heavyweights who could make a fortune off the back of him.
All hail Joshua, the IBF's new king.
The Greatest Tribute
As pointed out on Twitter by journalist Terry Dooley, there was resemblance to a legendary name in Joshua’s choice of outfit for his ring entrance:
The comparison to Muhammad Ali—who, by the way, took 20 fights to become a world champion—did not end at the pre-fight garb.
In his post-fight interview with BBC Radio 5 live (h/t the Press Association, via the Guardian), Joshua dropped a poetic verse that Ali would have been proud of: "The promoters are going to do their promoting, the fighters are going to do their fighting and the public are going to do their talking and I’m going to keep on walking."
This isn’t to say Joshua is the next Ali. There will never be another like the former Cassius Marcellus Clay.
However, the Englishman does have the potential to do wonders for the sport.
As promoter Eddie Hearn pointed out in his interview with Sky Sports Box Office: "[Joshua] is so humble, he's down to earth, he can beat them all. Don't worry about the small stuff, this is the real deal right here, and he'll beat everybody."
Rather than debate the things Joshua hasn’t done yet, just enjoy what he has achieved in such a short space of time.
He brings a unique buzz to British boxing. It's car-crash television when he's in the ring—you cannot take your eyes off what is going on despite having a good idea what is eventually going to happen.
Joshua is a box office draw who can put bums on seats, sell pay-per-view subscriptions and take boxing beyond brief sports bulletins and the back pages.
While there were similarities to Ali in his choice of attire and use of words, for Brits, it has a sense of revisiting the Frank Bruno era.
Bruno, incidentally, was in the audience on Saturday. When the 54-year-old was shown on the big screen inside the venue, the crowd launched into chants of "Bruno! Bruno! Bruno!"
Such is the love for the man, Bruno is still revered a full two decades on from his last bout. Some of those singing his name may not have even been alive the night Bruno finally won a world title in 1995.
Big Frank left a legacy in British boxing—Joshua will no doubt do the same.
The Prince’s Short Reign
Martin entered the ring in regal fashion. Donning a cape and with a crown sat atop his head, he made the most of his status as a world champion.
Ladbrokes couldn't help but poke a little fun at the visiting fighter on Twitter:
It’s a good job he soaked it all in because once the first bell rang, the American looked anything but a champion. Laboured with his footwork and lacking any head movement whatsoever, he was a sitting duck.
Martin made the mistake of moving forward onto a right hand from his opponent. Not content with doing it once, he duly repeated the trick.
After being knocked down for a second time, Prince Charles seemed to lose the ability to count to 10. He failed to rise in time to carry on, although Jean-Pierre van Imschoot's decision to wave off proceedings only spared Martin from taking further punishment.
The southpaw barely threw a punch before being stopped. In terms of time in the ring, his reign lasted four minutes and 32 seconds.
According to Declan Taylor and NextBritishFight on Twitter, it was memorable for all the wrong reasons:
At least he was well paid for the privilege of losing in a hurry.
Per Gareth A Davies of the Telegraph, Martin earned an estimated £3 million for his troubles. If that figure is right, that’s just over £11,000 per second of the bout.
Martin certainly made the most of his four minutes and 32 seconds of fame. He talked the talk during the buildup, carrying himself with the confident air of a man who believed he belonged at the top table.
However, he never remotely threatened to walk the walk. At least he always has London. Plus a really fat cheque to cash when he gets back home.
British Beef
McDonnell and Selby retained their world titles in contrasting styles.
McDonnell did what he always does best: made a steady start before picking up the pace, allowing him to overpower his opponent as the rounds ticked by.
Vargas, though, was good value as a late stand-in. The Mexican did well for the first half of the fight but faded as he ran out of steam. His corner pulled him out in Round 9 after a knockdown.
Selby, meanwhile, had to work a little harder to keep hold of his IBF strap. Hunter knocked the Welshman down in Round 2, as shared by KO Kings:
However, the Welshman rallied after the early setback. Hunter helped him out—the American spent far too long fussing (and complaining) rather than fighting.
The challenger fell foul of referee Terry O'Connor, losing a point in Round 7 for persistent low blows. Hunter had previous—he was disqualified against Luis Franco in 2010 for committing the same crime.
He at least managed to avoid being thrown out against Selby, but he was exasperated by the cards when all three were in favour of his opponent. The scores were 116-110 (twice) and 115-111. It turned out the point did not make a lot of difference in the final reckoning.
Had Hunter spent last time preening and more time punching (above the belt), the scores might have been closer.
The left hand that caused the flash knockdown showed just what he is capable of. Sadly we did not see enough moments like that throughout the contest.
Instead, the officiating gave him one more thing to be bitter about from a career that should have delivered far more, judging by his display in London. Hey, Eric, it isn't always someone else's fault.
As for McDonnell and Selby, they should focus on fighting two fellow Brits who went up against each other earlier this year.
Carl Frampton seems destined to move up from super bantamweight after beating Scott Quigg. His failure to set up a defence of his WBA belt against Guillermo Rigondeaux has seen him stripped of one of his two world titles, per Richard Damerell of Sky Sports.
If the Jackal jumps to featherweight, a British showdown with Selby makes plenty of sense (particularly if Leo Santa Cruz doesn't fancy a trip to Belfast, Northern Ireland, during the summer).
Any potential deal is made easier by the working relationship between the two promotional teams.
Barry McGuigan’s Cyclone Promotions (which looks after Frampton) recently signed up to work alongside Sanigar Events, which is in control of Selby's career, to host cards in Wales.
McDonnell could also step up to super bantamweight to face Quigg, who is still recovering from the broken jaw he suffered in losing to Frampton in February.
The two bouts make sense for all concerned. Now comes the hard part of making them a reality.
But as captain Jean-Luc Picard would often say aboard the USS Enterprise on Star Trek: "Make it so."
Chip Off the Old Block
Watched on by famous dad Nigel (wearing a suit that may have been in fashion when he last fought), super lightweight Benn dispatched Bulgarian Ivailo Boyanov in Round 1.
Benn Jr. showed flashes of his father's traits in the ring.
He had a crouched, knees-bent approach when looking to launch an attack. He was also happy to trade and occasionally caught, but the finish was impressive.
Strictly Boxing Fans captured the conclusion of a brief but entertaining scrap:
However, the most impressive moment of Benn's maiden outing in the paid ranks was the father-son dancing after the victory. Laceup Boxing tweeted the precious moment:
Whatever Benn Jr. goes on to achieve in his career, it should be fun watching his progress.
Groves Grooving
The Saint saw off the challenge of the previously undefeated Scotsman David Brophy with ease, stopping him in Round 4 with a body shot.
Groves needs to be pushed in his next outing. Callum Smith seems doubtful considering the Liverpudlian is unlikely to want to risk his standing as first in line to challenge for the WBC super-middleweight belt held by Badou Jack.
However, Martin Murray is ready and willing. According to Chris McKenna of the Daily Star, a deal is already in the works for a showdown in June.
Groves may not be loved by all, but he can box. His partnership with new trainer Shane McGuigan needs to be given a decent test.
Murray—a man who has lost four world title tilts compared to Groves' three—could be the man to provide it. At the very least, he could take his fellow Englishman into deeper waters.
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