Wow! the biggest heavyweight fight of the century is happening again…
Leading in to Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko’s title fight in April, many questions were begging to be answered. Was Joshua, young and hungry, the next big thing in boxing? Was Klitschko over the hill?
Certainly we found out that Joshua was indeed the heavyweight divisions biggest star. Although both men hit the canvas inside 10 rounds, it was an 11th round rally from AJ that secured the win. Without doubt, Joshua vs. Klitschko was an incredible fight.
Now it looks like they are set to do it all over again…
Joshua vs. Klitschko 2
Joshua’s team applied to the IF for an exemption to fight Wladimir Klitscho, and it was granted. Number one contender Kubrat Pulev objected to the exemption, but has since been guaranteed the winner of the second fight.
Similar circumstances happened when Tyson Fury was champio, so this is not an alien occurrence by any means. Here’s what Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said, via Bloody Elbow and Sky Sports:
“I feel like it’s Wladimir Klitschko,” said Hearn. “People keep saying is there a deadline? The situation is the fight is happening unless we are told otherwise by Bernd Boente and Wladimir Klitschko, who have a meeting this week.
“Over the next two weeks we are going to look at all those opportunities and sift out the ones that are real and the ones that make sense, and look at where the fight will be. But in our minds moving forward, it’s Wladimir Klitschko next.”
“We’ve had so many offers – Nigeria, Dubai, America, and also we have the opportunity of Cardiff here in the UK,” promoter Eddie Hearn told Sky Sports this week. Financially, Cardiff’s not the best choice, but also at the same time, if it’s not broke don’t fix it, and we have that mentality with ‘AJ’ moving forward.”
Can The Second Fight Ever Be As Good As The First?
Although we’ve seen countless rematches and trilogies over the years, very few can live up to the first. With the restriction on the exemption being set as December 2nd, we will definitley find out the answer to that question before years end.
Joshua’s future in the world of boxing is not surprisingly very bright. Being billed as boxings first billionaire, Joshua has the youth, good looks, raw talent, power, finishing rate and more to exceed everyone’s expectations.
Will his old Ukranian rival throw a spanner in the works, though? Joshua is currently 19-0 with 19 knockouts since beating ‘Dr. Steel Hammer.’ That said, he tasted the mat for the first time in his pro career against Wlad.
You can never count out the wily veterans, but then again Joshua already has Klitschko’s number from the first fight…
