Anthony Joshua heads to the ring once again on October 28 in Cardiff at the Principality Stadium.
This is Joshua’s 20th professional fight. Could it be his first loss?
AJ’s original opponent was Kubrat Pulev, a Bulgarian boxer. The last-minute news of Pulev withdrawing due to a shoulder injury created a shake up for Joshua. News of a new opponent soon followed (thanks to Eddie Hearn, of course!), being Carlos Takam.
Here is where the challenge lies – Takam is a completely different opponent compared to Pulev. Joshua has been preparing to fight Pulev, not Takam and this is where his weaknesses could show in the ring.
Wladimir Klitschko and Anthony Joshua are big names, with the majority of us knowing who they are. Yet, who can put their hand up and say they knew who Takam was before this fight was announced or even Pulev for that matter?
Takam is a Cameroonian-French boxer, with a record of 35-3-1, 27 of those wins by KO, from his 12 year professional career. The boxer is shorter than Joshua, which can be seen as a positive and negative for both parties.
Tony Bellew commented:
Joshua will be punching down, which can be a problem because if you’re doing that you can leave your chin susceptible to big shots over the top.
For a fight to garner interest, it needs to be interesting. Obvious, right? However, this fight is relying on the undercards to create a buzz, since the main fight is a mandatory challenge. The confirmed undercards are as follows:
- Kal Yafai v Sho Ishida (WBA world super-flyweight)
- Dillian Whyte v Robert Helenius (WBC silver heavyweight)
- Katie Taylor v Anahi Esther Sanchez (WBA lightweight)
- Frank Buglioni v Craig Richards (British light-heavyweight)
- Lenroy Thomas v Dave Allen (Commonwealth heavyweight)
The main fight is to start around 10pm UK time (dependent on how long the undercard bouts take), while the first of the undercard bouts start from 7pm.
From the list of undercard bouts, Dillian Whyte vs Robert Helenius sticks out. Whyte has fought AJ before, and is vying for a rematch.
I’m very close to a world title shot,” Whyte said earlier this week.
Another one to watch is Taylor vs Sanchez, where Taylor has gold for Ireland at the 2012 London Olympics, and since turning professional, a record of 6-0. However, her opponent, Sanchez, has an impressive record of 17-2-0.
Taylor spoke of her opponent:
She has a great record as well. She’s had more world title fights than I’ve had fights really in the pro game so it is going to be a very tough challenge.
It looks as if Taylor has finally met her match. It will make for an interesting undercard, that’s for sure.
The intense drama that came with McGregor and Mayweather – people wanted to watch it, to watch the months of suspense and drama build up to the climax. McGregor exceeded many people’s expectations. The fight was incredible in all matters. The money that the fight brought in was insane. Can Joshua vs Takam live up to these standards?
If you want to buy the fight, it can be booked through Sky Sports box office for £19.95 for UK customers.
I am a big fan of AJ and I admire his hard work and dedication, the transformation he made to improve his life. Has he met his match in Takam?
If Joshua manages to win, Eddie Hearn has stated that he has a three-fight plan for 2018, for bouts with Deontay Wilder and the heavyweight division’s other champion – Joseph Parker. I for one, will be looking forward to all three of these fights!
AJ was quoted saying:
We have to deliver. Let’s just deliver on Saturday night and we will look forward to a promising 2018.
Saturday will decide if this is the end of Joshua’s reign.
Really liked this, keep it up!