After an early chess match in which Joshua suffered a bloodied nose before cutting his rival, the Briton grew in confidence and a savage right hand followed by a left hook began an onslaught which would prove telling. Joshua, unusually subdued as Povetkin slung quality hooks from both wings at him for the first 20 minutes or so, switched from head to body to slow him down and, in a dramatic finish, threaded a long right on to his chin, followed by a left, to deck him in the seventh. He followed up ruthlessly, the same combination destroying what was left of the challenger’s resolve.
“Alexander is a very tough challenger,” Joshua said. “He proved that tonight with clever counter-punching. I switched from the head to the body. Every jab takes a second of breath out of you. I had a good fight, got my knockout streak back. There’s a lot of pressure. The whole country’s rooting for boxing. I’m a heavyweight, a world champion [owning the four other belts]. So they’re behind me. But it’s not just about me. I’m in it to learn.”
As for Wilder and Fury, he said, “Good luck to both of them. I wish them well.”
Joshua, who had been suffering from flu during his preparations and had a problem with his right hand before the fight, paid tribute to his opponent.
“I came in here to have fun, and give it my best. I knew he was strong to the head but weak to the body. I was just mixing it up.
“It could have been seven, maybe nine, maybe 12 rounds to get him out of there, but the ultimate aim was to be victorious.
