Anthony Joshua goes the distance but road to Deontay Wilder remains rocky | Sean Ingle
01 April 2018 09:00
The British fighter has three of the four major heavyweight belts but his path to the fourth may not be entirely straightforwardOf all the boxes that Anthony Joshua had rushed to tick during his whirlwind four-year professional career, only one had remained blank until Saturday night: going the distance in the ring. No more. Joseph Parker proved as tough as advertised, outgunned but never overwhelmed, but – tellingly – it was Joshua, with his supposedly suspect stamina, who finished the stronger man as he won a wide and unanimous points decision.In truth it wasn’t a classic. It was too stop-start for that, with the referee Giuseppe Quartarone rightly taking much of the blame for being too eager to break up every clinch. Yet there was enough menace in both men’s work to keep it interesting – even though Joshua’s stiff left jab, which acted like a cattle prod for most of the fight, dominating and repeatedly stinging his opponent, ensured he stayed in control. Related: Anthony Joshua beats Joseph Parker on points in heavyweight unification Continue readingread full article
