by Cliff Rold

Tyson Fury ended a title reign.

Anthony Joshua ended an era.

After trading knockdowns in the classic battle in April, Anthony Joshua found the finishing gear he needed late against Wladimir Klitschko. For the first time in the 21st century, the heavyweight division is without either Klitschko brother.

Now the real work begins. Fury couldn’t keep it together long enough to make a title defense. Joshua is being asked to do much more. He has the look of a potential megastar and many have already anointed him the future.

Now the real work begins.

It’s one thing to score a big win. It’s another thing to build an enduring reign. Saturday (Showtime, 5 PM EST/2 PM PST), Joshua was supposed to be facing longtime contender Kubrat Pulev. Instead, the challenger will be Carlos Takam on just a couple weeks notice. Takam, who has won two straight since a competitive loss to Joseph Parker, is actually down seven pounds from his last fight on the scales and the lightest he’s been in a long time.

Joshua, at 254, is as always cut to shreds but even bulkier than he was against Klitschko.

Do we have a fight here?

Let’s go to the report card.

The Ledger

Anthony Joshua

Age: 28

Title: IBF Heavyweight (2016-Present, 3 Defenses); WBA Heavyweight – Super (2017-Present, 1st Attempted Defense); IBO Heavyweight (2017-Present, 1 Attempted Defense).

Previous Titles: None

Height: 6’6

Weight: 254 lbs.

Hails from: Watford, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

Record: 19-0, 19 KO

Rankings: #1 (BoxingScene, TBRB, ESPN, Ring, Boxing Monthly, BoxRec)

Record in Major Title Fights: 4-0, 4 KO

Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced: Charles Martin KO2, Wladimir Klitschko TKO11

Vs.

Carlos Takam

Age: 36

Title/Previous Titles: None

Height: 6’1 ½

Weight: 235 ½ lbs.

Hails from: Douala, Cameroon

Record: 35-3-1, 27 KO, 1 KOBY

Record in Major Title Fights: First title opportunity

Current/Former World Champions Faced: Alexander Povetkin KO by 10 (Povetkin a former WBA sub-titlist)

Grades

Pre-Fight: Speed – Joshua B+; Takam B

Pre-Fight: Power – Joshua A+; Takam B

Pre-Fight: Defense – Joshua B; Takam B

Pre-Fight: Intangibles – Joshua A; Takam B

As exciting as the emergence of Joshua is for boxing, his resume is still growing. While this fight is a step down from the challenge Klitschko represented, one can make a strong argument that this is the second best opponent of his career on paper. The same would have been true of Pulev.

Paper is different than the ring. Takam in the ring has shown some signs of decline since a really good fight, and his lone knockout loss, against Alexander Povetkin in 2014. The biggest sign is his speed. Watch tape of that fight versus his last (a June stoppage of Ivan Bacurin) or even the Parker fight last year. He’s still not a slow heavyweight, but he was quicker then. It’s not a surprise. At 36, most fighters aren’t what they were when they were younger.

Takam though can still be crafty. He parries shots well off his gloves, has a whipping right hand, and knows how to get close to opponents to launch it. His jab sometimes loops and he can be caught winging shots. For Joshua, who has a long left jab, if he can touch Takam between those shots it will be telling. Takam also has a good gas tank. He was still in Parker’s face late in their fight and has never been an easy out. If Takam can force a faster pace in this fight and keep the pressure on, Joshua could find himself in a scrap.

Does Takam have the power to make this really dicey? That’s a tougher question. He’s got plenty of knockouts of his record but they’ve come against older, faded names or fighters who few would recall. Joshua has been rocked, notably against Dillian Whyte and Klitschko, but that’s not an indictment of his chin. Klitschko is one of the most devastating heavyweight punchers of all time.

Joshua got up. And he won.

However, part of that might have reflected Klitschko’s cerebral approach. He never stepped on the gas when Joshua looked like he was recovering in the seventh. That’s the remaining question mark on Joshua. He showed he can find a second wind but given his size, and mass, when he is between first and second wind is he vulnerable?

Is Takam the man to ask?

The Pick

A Takam upset here would be massive. Joshua’s value to the sport, now and for the next decade, is incredibly high. We’re talking about a fighter who, in his 19th and 20th fights, has competed in front of a combined crowd of 160 thousand and change. He’s already a sellable pay-per-view fighter in the UK with an American rival in Deontay Wilder that could reshape the financial direction of the sport. Takam has little to lose and that makes him dangerous. He knows how to fight and can give Joshua some trouble. Joshua should be able to handle it. Joshua has quick hands, real power, and he should be able to see the Takam right hand coming because he tends to fight tall. Joshua showed real ring character against Klitschko and it was the sort of fight that makes a fighter better. Joshua would have been favored over Takam before Klitschko. A better Joshua should keep the perfect knockout record intact, stopping Takam somewhere in the middle third of the fight.  

Report Card and Staff Picks 2017: 40-17

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com