Takam started round 1, bouncing around the ring effectively shutting down Joshua’s rhythm. In the 2nd round, the shorter Takam led with his dome, unintentionally head-butting Joshua. Joshua would receive a broken nose from the collision but would continue.
By round four, Joshua’s right jab opened a cut above Takam’s right eye and later in the round, England’s favorite son, would drop the skittish Frenchmen with a left hook. The fight pushed forward and by the 8th, Takam would gain matching cuts above both eyes, causing blood to seep in, obscuring his sight.
Takam would continue to press the action proving durable against the Joshua onslaught. However, in round 10, Joshua would land a solid right which shook Takam. Several shots from Joshua would follow, but Takam seemingly slipped past them. However, Referee Phil “Quick Stop” Edwards saw it differently and put Takam in a headlock- stopping an otherwise competitive Takam from going the distance.
Post-fight Joshua stated, “It was a good fight until the ref stopped it.” The winner would go on to say, “I have no interest in what’s going on with the officials. My job is the opponent. I don’t have control over the ref’s decision.”
Undercard
Heavyweight Dillian Whyte (22-1, 16KOs) becomes the WBC Silver titlist after beating Robert Helenius (25-2, 16KOs) in a 12- round contest. Helenius showed promise during the 2nd round, staggering his fellow ‘Brit’, after landing several upper body shots. As the fight advanced, the lackluster performance on the part of Helenius, saw Whyte coaxing him along- in an effort for him to fight back. Whyte walks away with the unanimous decision with scores: 119-109×2, 118-111.
Katie Taylor made history becoming the first Irish woman to hold a professional world title. the newest WBA lightweight women’s champion beat out Anahi Sanchez in a 12-rounds of action. Sanchez forfeited the belt after not making weight during Fridays weigh in.
