Anthony Joshua KOs Dominic Breazeale
Photo by Lawrence Lustig for Matchroom Sport
British superstar Anthony Joshua (17–0, 17 KOs) put a beating on a very game Dominic Breazeale (17–1, 15 KOS) before stopping him in the seventh round in a matchup of two undefeated top ten heavyweight contenders at the sold out O2 Arena in London that was broadcasted live on Showtime in the United States.
Joshua, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist, put on yet another dominating performance in front of his raucous and adoring fans, who snatched up every ticket in the 20,000 seat arena in just under 30 minutes to see their hero knockout another foe.
Facing his fourth consecutive undefeated opponent, fifth-ranked heavyweight contender Anthony Joshua had a huge advantage in hand speed over ninth-ranked heavyweight Dominic Breazeale that was evident from the opening bell. Joshua was able to beat Breazeale to the punch and land crisp combinations in the first round.
In the opening minute of the second round, Joshua landed a flurry that shook Breazeale in what was a sign of things to come. With 40 seconds left in the round, Joshua connected on a powerful right uppercut to the chin of Breazeale that sent him staggering across the ring. Joshua pounced on his opponent, landing numerous heavy blows, but was unable to finish off his wounded prey as Breazeale was able to survive the onslaught and make it out of the round. Breazeale’s face already showed signs of the beating he was absorbing as his right eye was badly swollen.
Breazeale, who also participated in the 2012 London Olympics, showed incredible toughness and gave a much better account of himself than fellow American compatriot Charles Martin, who succumbed to Joshua’s power in the second round back on April 9, also at the O2 Arena. Both American heavyweights were the product of Michael King’s King Sports Worldwide boxing program that attempted to return the U.S. to Olympic heavyweight glory by turning athletes from other sports into boxers.
Breazeale, a California native and former college quarterback, had pockets of success in the middle rounds as he threw some leather back at Joshua whenever he would get tagged and managed to bloody Joshua’s nose in the sixth round.
Joshua showed poise after his early success, gradually picking apart Breazeale with a thudding jab and a punishing right hand that connected at a high rate. In the opening minute of the seventh, Joshua backed Breazeale to the ropes with a flurry and sent him face first to the canvas with a devastating right hand. Breazeale got up at the count of nine but was badly hurt. Joshua ended the fight seconds later as he cornered Breazeale and landed a vicious combination punctuated by a powerful left hand that put Breazeale down again. Referee Howard Foster waved the fight off at 1:01 of round seven.
Up next for Joshua looks to be fifth-ranked heavyweight Joseph Parker (19–0, 16 KOs) of New Zealand, and if he is able to get past Parker, a shot at heavyweight champion Tyson Fury (24–0, 18 KOs) seems to be on the horizon for 2017 in what would be a massive stadium fight in England. A fight against fellow knockout artist, fourth-ranked heavyweight Deontay Wilder (36–0, 35 KOs) of Alabama would also be highly anticipated as he would presumably provide a much stiffer test for Joshua than Joshua’s previous two unbeaten American opponents in what is one of many mouth-watering matchups that can be made in the revived heavyweight division.