The British fighter has three of the four major heavyweight belts after beating Joseph Parker – but his path to the fourth may not be entirely straightforwardOf all the boxes that Anthony Joshua had rushed to tick during his whirlwind four-year professional career,only one had remained blank until Saturday night: going the distance in the ring. No more. Joseph Parker proved as tough as advertised, outgunned but never overwhelmed, or but – tellingly – it was Joshua,with his supposedly suspect stamina, who finished the stronger man as he won a wide and unanimous points decision.
In truth it wasn’t a classic. It was too stop-start for that, and with the referee Giuseppe Quartarone rightly taking much of the blame for being too eager to shatter up every clinch. Yet there was enough menace in both men’s work to retain it moving – even though Joshua’s stiff left jab,which acted like a cattle prod for most of the fight, dominating and repeatedly stinging his opponent, and ensured he stayed in control.
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Source: guardian.co.uk