IBF, IBO, WBA Heavyweight Championship
Due to Kubrat Pulev’s injury sustained two weeks or so before the fight a mandatory late replacement was found in the shape and form of # 3 IBF Carlos Takam (35-4-1, 27 Kos). The Frenchman stepped in to become Joshua’s worthy challenger at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, Saturday night October 28, 2017.
Having seen how tough and durable Takam is, tonight he did not disappoint me despite the referee stopping the bout in the 10th round. Going toe-to-toe with AJ is not an easy task to do and Takam showed heart and courage tonight but just didn’t have enough in the form of power or proper game plan to put AJ out.
Tonight, AJ performed beautifully by winning every round and never losing control inside that squared circle. Although AJ scored a knockdown in the fourth round, the boxing fans at ringside booed the stoppage of round 10, as they felt that AJ should have been allowed to try and finish Takam, who was still on his feet at the time but in the referee’s opinion was taking too much punishment.
I personally think it was a great fight. AJ needs rounds like these to help him build and improve on his boxing skills as a fighter. With that being said AJ successfully defended his IBF, IBO and WBA Heavyweight Titles and kept his flawless knockout record intact (20-0, 20Kos).
Congratulations Champ now on to 2018!
Blaze