By Ian S Palmer
England’s Anthony Joshua will face IBF Heavyweight Champion Charles Martin of America on Saturday, April 9th when they meet at the O2 Arena in London. Joshua is a former Olympic gold medalist who is will be appearing in just his 16th pro fight. Both boxers are undefeated and Joshua enters the ring with a 100 per cent knockout record. Fans in the UK can see the contest on Sky Box Office while Showtime will air it live in the U.S. Neither boxer has met any elite heavyweights as of yet as Joshua stopped Dillian Whyte in the seventh round in December and Martin beat Vyacheslav Glazkov in the third round when Glazkov suffered a knee injury on January 16th. Martin won the vacant IBF title in that outing after it was stripped from Tyson Fury for failing to defend his crown against Glazkov.
The 26-year-old Joshua enters the ring with a perfect mark of 15-0 with 15 Kos. He ended the first 14 bouts all within the first three rounds. The 29-year-old Martin of St. Louis, Missouri also has a near-perfect record as he’s currently 23-0-1 with 21 Kos to his name. Martin is a big southpaw who comes into the bout at 6-foot-5 and has an 80-inch reach. He’d rather stop his opponent than go to the scorecards and if he can use the jab and land some quick combinations he should give Joshua something to think about.
Martin turned pro in 2012 and has 74 rounds under his belt since then. He has a knockout ratio of 88 per cent with the only blemish on his record being a four-round draw against Alvaro Morales in 2013. Martin should try to keep Joshua at a safe distance if he possibly can and use some movement. He might also want to keep the contest a boxing match instead of deciding to slug it out if possible. Martin hasn’t fought anybody of note up to now other than Glazkov and he’s only been 10 rounds on one occasion.
Joshua, who won the British title in his bout against Whyte, is also the WBC International and Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion and won an Olympic gold medal at the 2012 Games in London. It’s safe to say he has better than average power with his 100 per cent knockout ratio, but critics will point out to his lack of upper-level opposition up to now. He turned pro back in 2013 and has 25 rounds under his belt since. He’s a big heavyweight by today’s standards as he stands 6-feet-6-inches tall and has a reach of 82 inches. Joshua’s most well-known opponents are Kevin Johnson, Matt Skelton and Michael Sprott.
Joshua arguably possesses the better boxing skills of the two and also has the edge in power is, at least on paper. The former Olympic champ has decent mobility and upper body movement as well as a stiff jab, but he could be a bit too muscle bound. Joshua may try to stay away from a slugfest for the first few rounds by boxing Martin, using his jab and size advantage and nailing his opponent whenever he sees an opening. If he hurts him he won’t let up and it could be a short night.
Prediction
Joshua has built up a perfect KO record much like Deontay Wilder did, but Wilder had to go the distance as soon as he met an upper-class opponent in Bermane Stiverne. Martin isn’t a proven top heavyweight as of yet, but this fight likely won’t go the distance both boxers have dynamite in their fists. It has the potential to be an action-packed bout and each of their chins could be seriously tested. Martin will be relying on his power to do some damage, but if Joshua can take his best shots then he could be in trouble. I think Joshua will end up being too powerful for Martin in the long run as long as he can take a solid shot.
