AJ's greatest hits
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Anthony Joshua has carved out an incredible career for himself, so much so that he is now considered to be one of the best boxing heavyweights of the current generation.
He has come on leaps and bounds since his troubled childhood and is now a box office draw in the sport on both sides of the Atlantic.
On June 1, he will come up against Andy Ruiz Jr after Jarrell Miller was forced to withdraw after failing three drug tests. Although Ruiz won’t represent the biggest threat in Joshua’s career, he needs to be wary of his new opponent. In Joshua vs Ruiz Jr odds, the Brit is the clear favourite, but whether that happens or not is another matter.
He’s faced bigger and better opponents inside the ring and we’ve taken a look at his toughest tests to date:
Carlos Takam
Although Carlos Takam might not have been one of the greatest opponents to step inside the ring with Anthony Joshua, it was the circumstances that led to the fight which makes him one of the toughest opponents.
Originally, it was meant to be Kubrat Pulev who took on the British boxer on 28th October 2017, but an injury to Pulev just under two weeks prior to the fight meant that he had to withdraw. He was replaced with Takam, but having prepared for months to fight Pulev, Joshua then had to switch his focus and create a fight plan based on Takam’s style.
Fortunately for Joshua, he was able to secure a technical knockout victory in the tenth round and retained his WBA (Super), IBF and IBO heavyweight titles.
Wladimir Klitschko
In what was the biggest match of his career at the time, Anthony Joshua came up against the legendary Wladimir Klitschko in a fight which saw Joshua defend his IBF heavyweight title as well as gain the WBA (Super) and IBO heavyweight titles, which were vacant after Tyson Fury relinquished them.
Prior to the fight, Joshua had always succeeded in winning before the 10th round had even begun, but Klitschko would prove to be a real challenge. When the two fought at Wembley Stadium, the Ukrainian boxer, despite coming to the end of his career, put up a good fight.
Despite his valiant efforts, Klitschko could not prevent Joshua from dominating and, in the end, Joshua secured a TKO victory in the 11th round. He now held three titles and was very much the main man of the heavyweight division.
Joseph Parker
In a bid to become the true undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, Anthony Joshua put his IBF, WBA (Super) and IBO heavyweight titles on the line against the WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker.
The New Zealander took on the Watford-born boxer at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, and much like his fight with Klitschko, it was a closely fought battle.
For the first – and so far, only – time in his career, Anthony Joshua failed to win by either a knockout or a TKO. Instead, he was forced to win by a points decision. It was a unanimous decision, but slightly too close to comfort for the Brit.
Victory put Joshua 21-0 in his professional career and although his knockout streak was over, he had just won his fourth championship. There is one left to get – the WBC heavyweight title – and that will mean taking on another undefeated boxer – Deontay Wilder.