By Ian S Palmer
Young up-an-coming heavyweight Anthony Joshua will be taking fellow Englishman Matt Skelton in a six-round round contest at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on Saturday, July 12. The aging Skelton’s top career moment occurred back in 2008 when he took on Ruslan Chagaev of Uzbekistan for the WBA world title. However, he came out on the wrong end of a 12-round unanimous decision. Joshua is well known as being an Olympic medal winner at the 2012 Games in London in the super heavyweight division. This bout can be seen in the UK on Sky Sports.
The 24-year-old undefeated Joshua has good size at 6-feet-6-inches in height. The native of Watford is currently ranked number 93 in the world and number nine in England. He’ll be entering the ring with a perfect record of 6-0 with all six of the wins coming by KO. His last bout took place at the famous Wembley Stadium back in May where he stopped Matt Legg in the first round of a scheduled six. Before that he disposed of Hector Alfredo Avila in the first round in March in Glasgow, Scotland.
The 47-year-old Skelton is 6-feet 3-inches and will climb through the ring ropes with a record of 28-8 with 23 Kos to his name. While it’s obvious that Skelton has better-than-average power in his gloves, he’s also got a questionable chin since he’s been stopped in four of his eight losses. There’s a good chance there will be some fireworks in this contest considering Joshua also has quite a bit of power.
Skelton’s last bout went the distance though as he lost a unanimous decision to John McDermott back in March of 2013 in a fight for the vacant English Heavyweight Title. In his previous outing, Skelton was knocked out by David Price in the second round in November of 2012 in Liverpool. As you can see, he hasn’t been very active lately and this will be his first fight in over a year.
Skelton has been in the ring with some semi-decent boxers over the years and definitely has the edge in experience. He hasn’t always been successful when he’s stepped up in class, but has taken on the likes of Chagaev, Michael Sprott, Kevin McBride, Kubrat Pulev, Francesco Pianeta, Danny Williams and Julius Francis.
Prediction
Everything is stacked against Skelton here such as size, age, inactivity, chin, and power. However, he does have quite a bit of experience as well as a puncher’s chance. Joshua’s chin hasn’t really been tested yet as a pro and this could be the night it finally is. The bout is scheduled for six rounds, but some reports say it may be extended to eight. Either way, Joshua should take this by a relatively easy points win or late stoppage.
