(UDHAYAM, COLOMBO) – Anthony Joshua cemented his status as the world’s premier heavyweight with an 11th-round stoppage of Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley Stadium Saturday.
In what was billed as a clash of generations and perhaps the biggest heavyweight bout since Lennox Lewis beat Mike Tyson in 2002, the 27-year-old Joshua recovered from a knockdown in the sixth round to win one of the most thrilling fights in recent heavyweight history.
In doing so, the Englishman retained his IBF belt and gained the vacant WBA title, but the 41-year-old Klitschko pushed Joshua all the way.
Boxing great Sugar Ray Leonard tweeted: “Such an amazing fight with 2 great fighters. Lot of heart by both fighters. A lot of questions answered by @anthonyfjoshua #JoshuaKlitchsko.”
Not since Len Harvey fought Jock McAvoy for the British light-heavyweight title at White City in 1939 had so many fans flocked to a boxing match in Britain, with 90,000 pouring through the turnstiles at the national stadium.
The fight was deemed so important that it was only the third in history, and the first staged outside of the US, to be broadcast on both American network rivals HBO and Showtime. It was also televised in 140 countries.
