Anthony Joshua vs Carlos Takam

A challenger summoned with twelve days’ notice took the heavyweight champion into the tenth round and was still protesting when the referee stopped him. Anthony Joshua retained his WBA Super, IBF and IBO titles against Carlos Takam at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on 28 October 2017, but the conclusion drew boos from sections of the crowd. Takam had been knocked down and cut above both eyes, yet remained upright when Phil Edwards intervened at 1 minute 34 seconds of the tenth. Before approximately 78,000 spectators beneath the stadium’s closed roof, Joshua secured his twentieth professional victory, all inside the distance.

The Matchroom promotion was Joshua’s first appearance since his eleventh-round victory over Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley six months earlier. Kubrat Pulev had been scheduled to challenge him, but a shoulder injury forced the Bulgarian’s withdrawal on 16 October. Takam, the next available contender in the IBF rankings, stepped in. Although the appointment was late, Eddie Hearn had arranged for his team to prepare as a standby opponent. The France-based Cameroonian brought experience against Alexander Povetkin and Joseph Parker, together with a record of 35 wins, three defeats and a draw. Joshua, unbeaten in nineteen contests, weighed a career-high 254 pounds against Takam’s 235½. The champion’s considerable advantages in height and reach required the shorter challenger to negotiate the jab before he could work effectively at close quarters.

Joshua advanced cautiously in the opening round, probing with his left hand while Takam offered little and stayed beyond the heavier punches. The second brought the champion an unexpected difficulty when their heads collided, Takam’s forehead striking his nose. Blood appeared, and the swelling became pronounced. Joshua continued, but the injury troubled him for the remainder of the contest. He later explained that it had affected his breathing; subsequent medical examination established that the nose was not broken. Through the third round, Joshua continued to follow Takam, landing occasional jabs and rights without committing to a sustained attack. Takam’s low position and sudden advances presented a different target from the taller Pulev for whom Joshua had originally prepared.

The fourth round provided the first decisive exchanges. Joshua began putting punches together, and Takam stood his ground sufficiently to answer before being forced back. A cut opened above the challenger’s right eye. Later in the round, Joshua landed a left hook which sent Takam stumbling, his left glove touching the canvas. Edwards correctly treated that contact as a knockdown and administered the count. Takam recovered enough to continue and came out more positively for the fifth. Another left shook him, however, and Edwards called the doctor to examine the wound. Permission to resume was granted. Takam then landed a useful left hook of his own, but Joshua’s heavier head punches continued to give the champion the better of the exchanges.

Takam pressed more persistently during the middle rounds, finding opportunities to punch to the body and occasionally getting beyond Joshua’s long left. The champion answered with the jab and increasingly brought his left hook into use. Takam’s seventh was among his most effective rounds: right hands reached Joshua’s head, and a left hook added to his success before the champion responded near the bell. Joshua re-established his control in the eighth, working at longer range and mixing body punches with hooks upstairs. By the ninth, Takam was bleeding above both eyes. Another medical inspection allowed him to continue, but Joshua’s jab repeatedly interrupted his attempts to move inside. The challenger’s resistance remained determined, although his opportunities to mount sustained attacks were limited.

Takam began the tenth willing to advance, but Joshua caught him with a succession of hard punches as he tried to close the distance. A hook and uppercut combination helped force him backwards, and Joshua followed with further blows to the head. Edwards moved between them before the champion could continue. Takam immediately objected, shaking his head and insisting that he remained capable of fighting. The intervention was disputed because he was still on his feet and attempting to evade the attack, though the accumulated punishment and cuts were considerable. “I don’t know why the referee stopped the match,” Takam said afterwards. He asked for a return contest. Joshua, who had been trying to obtain a more conclusive finish, acknowledged that the decision belonged to the referee.

The scoring showed that Takam’s durability had not made the contest close. After nine completed rounds, Michael Alexander and Pawel Kardyni each had Joshua ahead by 89 points to 81, while Ron McNair scored 90 to 80. The fourth round knockdown accounted for an additional point on every card. CompuBox recorded Joshua landing 152 of 454 punches, compared with Takam’s 52 of 222. Joshua landed 61 jabs to sixteen and 91 power punches to 36. Those figures reflected the principal pattern of the evening: the champion controlled much of the action with his lead hand and delivered the more effective combinations, while Takam’s occasional successes were separated by longer periods spent defending or trying to reach punching distance.

Joshua left Cardiff with his championships intact and a record of twenty wins without defeat. Takam’s record became 35 wins, four defeats and one draw, his performance earning recognition despite the wide scoring. Joshua maintained afterwards that he had deliberately avoided rushing his finishing efforts and had wanted the stoppage to develop naturally. The nose injury had required composure, while Takam’s resilience demanded patience beyond the early knockout many had anticipated. Hearn discussed possible unification contests with Joseph Parker or Deontay Wilder for the following year. The immediate result was clear, even if its timing remained contentious: Joshua had controlled and won the fight, while Takam had made the champion work considerably harder than his brief notice suggested he could.

I thought Joshua won comfortably, but Takam made him earn it. After the Klitschko fight, the public expected another big finish. Instead, they got a compact, experienced heavyweight who kept coming despite a knockdown and cuts above both eyes. Taking the assignment at twelve days’ notice deserves respect; surviving punishment alone, though, doesn’t win rounds.

For me, Joshua’s jab did the important work. Takam’s crouch and movement made the clean right hand difficult to find, so Joshua had to build his attacks and resist forcing the finish. The damaged nose added another problem, and he showed composure in managing it. Takam occasionally got inside and landed, but couldn’t sustain enough work to overturn Joshua’s control.

I reckon Edwards stepped in too soon. Takam was under pressure, but still upright and trying to evade punches. The cuts justified close attention; that particular exchange didn’t convince me he needed rescuing immediately. Joshua deserved the victory. Takam deserved a little longer to defend himself.