Ring walk
With Takam already in the ring, Joshua once again had the flaming AJ symbol on display as he walked to the ring with the sell out crowd in Cardiff singing his name.
Michael Buffer
As is customary with big fights, Michael Buffer was the man who announced both fighters to the Cardiff crowd.
Round One
Joshua stood in the centre of the ring, firmly behind his jab as Takam sat on the back foot. Neither man looked to bothered about landing any shots as they tried to work themselves into the fight.
Round Two
The round started with a big clash of heads which lead to Joshua’s nose bleeding heavily, it looked broken. That seemed to spur on the champion as he started throwing some big shots but he didn’t land too much.
Round Three
Takem stayed on the back foot, trying to draw Joshua in and after another clash of heads, the challenger landed a decent shot but it didn’t seem to bother Joshua. The champion looked to attack but couldn’t really land anything cleanly.
Round Four
AJ threw a few decent shots but the challenger didn’t allow them to land cleanly. The champion landed a big shot that cut Takam’s eye, after a brief chat with the referee, the challenger started throwing widely as he knew the cut had him trouble. He left himself open and AJ scored a knockdown!
Takam beat the count and got to the end of the round, just!
Round Five
It looked like Takam might retire on his stool but he bravely fought on. However, Joshua realised his opponent was in trouble and went for the kill.
The referee called a time-out to allow the doctor to check the cut and he decided that the challenger was fit to continue.
Joshua threw numerous combinations and the challenger showed his toughness by standing up to them.
Round Six
After the cornermen treated the terrible cut as best they could, Takam continued.
He came out throwing a few punches but none of them landed and Joshua stood behind a firm jab.
The champion landed a big uppercut that wobbled Takam but he showed his toughness by regrouping well. He tried to work up on AJ’s body but the champion took the shots easily as the bell rang.
Round Seven
AJ landed some heavy shots but Takam took them well and responded with a few of his own that landed. They seemed to annoy AJ more than anything else and he fired a few back but the challenger once again showed his toughness by not taking a backwards step.
Round Eight
As actor Idris Elba looked on, Takam was treated for another cut in the corner, meaning both his eyes were now cut.
After Joshua threw a few jabs, the referee called timeout as AJ had loose tape on his gloves.
Joshua worked the body with some big shots and followed them up but the challenger waved him on, asking for more!
Great toughness from Takam!
Round Nine
The round started with the doctor checking the cuts on Takam’s eyes and he decided that the challenger could continue once again.
Joshua stayed cool behind the jab, keeping Takam at bay well. The challenger threw a few more shots but couldn’t land many of them and for the first time in the fight, Takam looked to get on the front foot and Joshua made him pay right at the end of the round with a big shot.
Round Ten
Takam came out swinging once again but he didn’t land too much at all.
The AJ uppercut landed once again and that wobbled Takam again and the referee stopped the fight!
It looked a bit premature to be honest and Takam was furious. AJ had the fight in hand and the cut to the challenger was heavy but he looked like he’d be able to continue.
Still, the fight was ended and despite a gutsy performance from Takam, Joshua retained his titles and got some much-needed tough rounds under his belt.
Conclusion
The broken nose early on changed things dramatically as Joshua needed to conserve energy. He pretty much won every round but credit to Takam.
He came into the fight on 12 days notice and showed great toughness. He had two bad cuts but soldiered on and in the end, can count himself a bit unlucky that the ref stopped the fight when he did.
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