Anthony Joshua vs. Carlos Takam was a

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

professional boxing Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse bid, purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regula ...

match contested between undefeated and unified WBA (Super), IBF, and IBO champion

Anthony Joshua Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua (born 15 October 1989) is an English professional boxer. He is a two-time former unified world heavyweight champion, having held the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles twice between 2016 and 2021. At r ...

, and the IBF's number three ranked contender, Carlos Takam. The bout took place on 28 October 2017 at the

Principality Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...

in Cardiff, Wales. Joshua defeated Takam, retaining his heavyweight titles via tenth-round technical knockout (TKO).

Background

Following Joshua's win over Wladimir Klitschko in April 2017, unifying the WBA (Super) and IBF titles and capturing the IBO, the IBF granted Joshua an exemption from fighting their

mandatory challenger In professional boxing and some other combat sports, a mandatory challenger is an opponent whom a champion must either fight or be forced to vacate their title as champion. A mandatory defence is the opposite of a voluntary defence, where the champi ...

, Kubrat Pulev, in order to allow Joshua to fulfil a contractual rematch obligation with Klitschko. After Klitschko announced his retirement on 3 August, the IBF ordered Joshua to negotiate a deal with Pulev by 3 September. On 5 September, Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn, officially announced Joshua vs. Pulev would take place on 28 October at the

in Cardiff, Wales. Less than two weeks before the fight, rumours began to circulate that Pulev had suffered an injury, putting the fight in jeopardy. The rumours proved to be true, leading Hearn to announce that Takam had stepped in to replace Pulev with just 12 days notice. Hearn also revealed that during the initial negotiations with Pulev, he had also been negotiating with Takam to be held in reserve as a replacement in the event that Pulev pulled out.

The Fight

Round one saw little action, with Joshua taking the centre of the ring while Takam remained on the back foot. The second round saw Joshua increase his punch output following an accidental headbutt, causing blood to flow from Joshua's nose. After a slow third round, the action picked up in the fourth with both fighters increasing their punch output. Takam received a cut above his right eye from a left hook early in the round. In the final 20 seconds, Joshua landed a solid counter left hook which caused Takam to stumble and touch the canvas with his right glove, scoring a knockdown for Joshua. The champion began landing punches on Takam with more frequency in the fifth. A minute into the round, referee Phil Edwards called a halt to the action to allow the ringside doctor to examine the cut above Takam's right eye. After a brief examination, Edwards resumed the contest. Despite being cut above the left eye in the seventh, Takam was able to land a few punches on the champion. At the beginning of the ninth round, Edwards once again halted the action to allow the ringside doctor to examine the cuts above Takam's eyes. With the doctor deeming Takam fit to continue, Edwards resumed the contest. The end came in the tenth after Joshua landed several unanswered punches on Takam, prompting Edwards to call off the fight, with Joshua retaining his titles via technical knockout.

Fight card

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Takam, Joshua 2017 in boxing 2017 in British sport 2017 in Welsh sport Boxing in Wales October 2017 sports events in the United Kingdom 2010s in Cardiff International sports competitions hosted by Wales Sports competitions in Cardiff World Boxing Association heavyweight championship matches International Boxing Federation heavyweight championship matches International Boxing Organization heavyweight championship matches Pay-per-view boxing matches Boxing matches involving Anthony Joshua

Background

The Fight

Fight card

See also

References