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Anthony Joshua vs. Carlos Takam
Anthony Joshua vs. Carlos Takam was a professional boxing match contested on 28 October 2017, for the WBA (Super), IBF, and IBO heavyweight championship. The bout took place at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Joshua defeated Takam, retaining his heavyweight titles via tenth-round technical knockout (TKO). BackgroundFollowing Joshua's win over Wladimir Klitschko in April 2017, unifying the WBA (Super) and IBF titles and capturing the IBO, the IBF granted Joshua an exemption from fighting their mandatory challenger, Kubrat Pulev, in order to allow Joshua to fulfil a contractual rematch obligation with Klitschko.[1] After Klitschko announced his retirement on 3 August,[2] the IBF ordered Joshua to negotiate a deal with Pulev by 3 September.[3] On 5 September, Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn, officially announced Joshua vs. Pulev would take place on 28 October at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.[4] Less than two weeks before the fight, rumours began to circulate that Pulev had suffered an injury, putting the fight in jeopardy.[5] The rumours proved to be true, leading Hearn to announce that Takam had stepped in to replace Pulev with just 12 days notice. Hearn also revealed that during the initial negotiations with Pulev, he had also been negotiating with Takam to be held in reserve as a replacement in the event that Pulev pulled out.[6] The fightsUndercardThe preliminary bouts featured wins for prospects Lawrence Okolie and Joshua Buatsi. The first bout on the PPV card saw Frank Buglioni defend his British light-heavyweight title against unbeaten contender Craig Richards, who came in as a late replacement for Commonwealth champion Callum Johnson, who pulled out a week before the fight due to a medical condition.[7] Buglioni's work rate would see him grind out a wide unanimous decision victory with scores of two scores of 117–111 and one of 116–113.[8] Yafai vs. IshidaThe first world title bout on the card saw WBA super-flyweight champion Khalid Yafai make the second defence of his title against No. 1 ranked Sho Ishida.[9] The fightDespite having a height advantage over the champion, Ishida was unable to deal the with speed of Yafai. The fight went the distance and Yafai was awarded an unanimous decision victory with scores of 118–110, 116–112 and 116–112.[10] Sánchez vs. TaylorThe next bout saw former two-weight world champion Anahí Ester Sánchez face 2012 Olympic gold medallist Katie Taylor. Sánchez was set to defend her WBA lightweight title on the night, however, she failed to make weight and was subsequently stripped with the title on the line for Taylor only.[11] The fightAfter controlling the first round with her speed and power, Taylor dropped the former champion to the canvas with a body shot in the second. Sánchez was hurt again in the next round after a right hand from Taylor caused her to stagger. Sánchez had some success in the fifth, landing right hands to force Taylor onto the back foot. Taylor regained control for the rest of the fight to secure a wide unanimous decision victory, with all three judges scoring the bout 99–90 to hand Taylor her first world title.[12][13] Whyte vs. HeleniusThe chief support saw WBC International champion Dillian Whyte (WBC:3rd IBF:5th WBO:6th WBA:8th) face former 2 time European heavyweight champion Robert Helenius (IBF:7th WBC:16th) for the WBC Silver belt.[14][15] The fightHelenius started the fight well hurting Whyte in the second round. Whyte bounced back and dominated the remainder of the fight with Helenius reluctant to throw anything meaningful to win the rounds. Whyte would win an unanimous decision with scorecards reading 119–109 twice, and 118–110.[16][17] Main Event Round one saw little action, with Joshua taking the centre of the ring while Takam remained on the back foot. The second round saw Joshua increase his punch output following an accidental headbutt, causing blood to flow from Joshua's nose. After a slow third round, the action picked up in the fourth with both fighters increasing their punch output. Takam received a cut above his right eye from a left hook early in the round. In the final 20 seconds, Joshua landed a solid counter left hook which caused Takam to stumble and touch the canvas with his right glove, scoring a knockdown for Joshua. The champion began landing punches on Takam with more frequency in the fifth. A minute into the round, referee Phil Edwards called a halt to the action to allow the ringside doctor to examine the cut above Takam's right eye. After a brief examination, Edwards resumed the contest. Despite being cut above the left eye in the seventh, Takam was able to land a few punches on the champion. At the beginning of the ninth round, Edwards once again halted the action to allow the ringside doctor to examine the cuts above Takam's eyes. With the doctor deeming Takam fit to continue, Edwards resumed the contest. The end came in the tenth after Joshua landed several unanswered punches on Takam, prompting Edwards to call off the fight, with Joshua retaining his titles via technical knockout.[18] AftermathSpeaking after the bout Joshua said "I come to fight. I don't sit on the edge and make decisions. It was a good fight until the ref stopped it, so I have the utmost respect for Takam. People want to see Takam unconscious on the floor, and that's what I was trying to get to." Takam would call for another shot at the champion saying "I want a rematch. I made my preparations with 12 days to fight Anthony. I want to box him again. I want him. He is a great champion." While some criticized the stoppage, BBC boxing correspondent Mike Costello didn't, saying "I don't have a problem with it. Surely with the blood flowing the way it was, Takam could barely have seen. I've seen too many sob stories at this stage of a fight for me to complain about that stoppage."[19] Fight card
^Note 1 For WBA (Super), IBF, and IBO heavyweight titles BroadcastingReferences
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