Anthony Joshua became Britain’s second reigning world heavyweight champion when he knocked out Charles Martin in the second round at the O2 Arena on Saturday.
Joshua, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist, captured his first world title in only his 16th professional fight by flattening American Martin to lift the IBF belt.
Martin, who was making a first defense, was floored twice in the second round by right hands and failed to beat the count the second time.
Photo: EPA
Joshua, who turned professional in October 2013, is the fifth-quickest heavyweight to win a version of the world title and is Britain’s second reigning world heavyweight champion along with Tyson Fury, who holds the WBA and WBO belts.
A future clash between Joshua, 26, and Fury is to become a possibility if Fury can beat Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko in a rematch on July 9.
Joshua’s title triumph improved his record to 16 wins from as many fights, while Martin suffered his first defeat in 25 fights, with one draw.
Joshua’s muscular frame looks like it has been cut from stone and his power was too much for Martin. All 16 of the Briton’s opponents in the paid ranks have been stopped and only one has survived past the third round.
Joshua hardly broke sweat in sweeping aside Martin, but insisted after he still needed to improve.
“I’m not getting carried away because [I] still got a lot of work to do,” the new champion said. “I’ve got David Haye and Tyson Fury calling me out. Trust me, when they step in the ring with me I will be ready.”
Joshua might not be quick on feet, but the 1.98m-tall boxer does not have any problems in quickly hunting down opponents.
Martin sprang from obscurity to be IBF champion in January when he won the vacant belt after Ukrainian Vyacheslav Glazkov injured a knee in the third round. The belt only became available because Fury was stripped of it for agreeing to face Klitschko in a rematch.
Both made a cautious start with Joshua landing the best punch in the opening round when he broke through Martin’s guard with a right.
Martin, 29, was put on the back foot in the second round and was sent crashing backward to the canvas when he was caught flush on the chin by a right.
When Martin got up after a count, Joshua immediately planted another flush on the jaw to send him back to the canvas.
Martin complained when the fight was waved off after the American failed to beat referee Jeane Pierre Van Imschoot’s second count.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
PAINFUL VICTORY: Ruud said that felt pain in his rib during the warmup and was put on painkillers so that he could finish the match against Argentine Francisco Cerundolo With the help of painkillers, Casper Ruud overcame a rib ailment to defeat Francisco Cerundolo in straight sets and reach the Madrid Open final on Friday. Ruud is to face Jack Draper, who beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 7-6 (4) in the other semi-final to make his third final of the year. Ruud received treatment on his rib three games into the match and went on to win 6-4, 7-5 on the Caja Magica center court. The 15th-ranked Norwegian saved 15 of the 18 break points he faced against the 21st-ranked Argentine. Ruud said he felt something in his rib during the warmup, just before
RSS