Anthony Joshua vs Emanuele Leo

Fourteen months after winning Olympic super-heavyweight gold in the same city, Anthony Joshua began his professional career with a stoppage requiring neither a knockdown nor a second round. The 23-year-old Londoner halted Italy’s unbeaten Emanuele Leo after two minutes 47 seconds of their scheduled six-round heavyweight contest at the O2 Arena.

Joshua and Leo each weighed 231lb, but there was a considerable difference in their physical appearance and athletic ability. Joshua stood 6ft 6in, carried his weight cleanly and possessed the long arms and upright stance familiar from his amateur career. Leo, aged 32 and bringing a record of eight victories without defeat, was not inclined merely to survive. He advanced from the opening bell with his gloves high, attempting to crowd the taller man and prevent him settling at long range.

Joshua immediately put authority into his left jab. It was delivered directly and with sufficient force to knock Leo’s head backwards, allowing the Englishman to measure the distance for his right hand. Leo continued to come forward, but his approach was too straight and his upper body movement insufficient. Joshua repeatedly caught him with right crosses as he entered, then stepped away before the Italian could answer effectively. There was some understandable haste in the debutant’s work, and midway through the round he swung an arm while pursuing Leo and accidentally cuffed referee Ian John-Lewis. The official was unharmed, and the contest continued after the brief interruption.

Leo remained willing, but willingness was no defence against Joshua’s speed and accuracy. Each successful right hand disturbed his balance, and the pressure increased as the round entered its final minute. Joshua drove him backwards with straight punches, added hooks when Leo raised his guard and kept him under attack near the ropes. The Italian did not go down, but he was being struck cleanly and had ceased to offer a useful reply. John-Lewis intervened with 13 seconds remaining, sparing him further punishment.

The performance was brief but satisfactory. Joshua had shown a stiff jab, a forceful straight right and the instinct to finish once an opponent was hurt. He had also displayed the impatience common to an eagerly watched novice, occasionally loading his punches and allowing his feet to follow his hands too quickly. Against a stronger counter-puncher those faults would require correction, but Leo was unable to test them. Joshua left the ring with his first professional victory, while the immediate task remained the ordinary one facing every gifted beginner: to gain rounds, refine his balance and discover whether the qualities that brought Olympic success would withstand the slower and more punishing demands of the professional heavyweight division.

Joshua arrived in the professional game carrying Olympic gold and the sort of attention most debutants could only dream about. Britain had waited years for another heavyweight with genuine world-level potential, so Emanuele Leo was less an opponent than the first examination of whether Joshua’s amateur qualities would translate.

Leo was unbeaten, but his record disguised a serious difference in class. He came forward willingly and even caught Joshua with a couple of left hooks, yet he lacked the head movement and foot speed to cross the danger area safely. Joshua’s jab was the first thing that impressed me. It was not being flicked out to collect points; it was stiff, straight and snapping Leo’s head backwards.

Once Joshua found the range, the right hand followed naturally. He did become overexcited and briefly caught referee Ian John-Lewis with his forearm while pursuing Leo, which showed that his feet were struggling to keep pace with his intentions. That is common in powerful young heavyweights.

The stoppage was correct. Leo remained upright, but he was trapped near the ropes, absorbing clean punches and no longer returning anything useful. Joshua showed speed, power and a proper finishing instinct. What he did not show, because Leo could not ask the questions, was how he would respond under pressure, manage his energy or recover after being hurt. It was an impressive beginning, but still only a beginning.