Anthony Joshua became a real boxing star after beating former and long-reigning heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko back in April of 2017. The fight took place at Wembley, where AJ will fight once again on Saturday, against Daniel Dubois for the IBF heavyweight strap. And Wladimir’s big bro Vitali, looking back with Sky Sports, pondered how, maybe he could have changed the outcome of the 2017 fight that saw Joshua win by late KO.
As fans will no doubt recall, Wlad put Joshua down heavily in the sixth round of what was a terrific action fight, but the former champ failed to go for the finish in the following round. Today, Vitali was asked if things could have been a whole lot different he he had implored his brother to step on the gas in a consorted effort at taking a still groggy Joshua out in round seven.
Vitali says he hates the word ‘if,’ and he also says Joshua was the better fighter in the night all those years ago.
“History doesn’t like the word if. If……..Joshua is a good fighter. A fight is about physical condition,” Vitali said. “It’s about strategy and regarding the psychological game. In this fight Joshua was stronger than Wladimir. My personal opinion as a sportsman is Wladimir made a couple of mistakes. Wladimir was prepared great for the fight but if……if (laughs). For me this fight was very important. I’m much more quiet and comfortable when I am inside the ring. When I’m outside in the corner of my brother, I’m so nervous. It was a very difficult fight but it was a very interesting fight.”
It was indeed a great and interesting fight; a fight that forever changed Joshua’s life, with it elevating him to superstar status. Almost right after the fight, however, fans were asking, did Klitschko blow it by allowing Joshua to recover in that seventh round? Maybe. We will never know what might have happened if Wladimir had gone out all guns blazing in the seventh round. It’s a case of ‘if’ he had done so, would Joshua have been able to hold on or would he have been the man who was KO’d that night over seven years ago?
But both Klitschko bothers have moved on, with neither great seeming to have any time for regret. Now, Vitali says he is keeping his fingers crossed for “good man” Joshua as he approaches Saturday’s fight with Dubois.
What drama might we see on Saturday, and what mistakes if any may either fighter make that proves crucial? With the heavyweights it really does take just one punch to decide the outcome of a fight sometimes.
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