LONDON: With blood streaming out of his busted nose, Anthony Joshua was in deep trouble once more in front of 80,000 stunned spectators at Wembley Stadium.

Alexander Povetkin, a 39-year-old Russian with supposedly his best days behind him, was dominating heavyweight boxing’s new superstar with his powerful inside work and punching power.

Like 17 months ago when he was knocked down by Wladimir Klitschko in the same venue, Joshua was looking vulnerable. And just like that career-defining night, he came through.

Joshua slowly picked off a tiring Povetkin and delivered a brutal finish in the seventh round to retain his WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO world heavyweight championship belts on Saturday.

The end was emphatic, and trademark Joshua. A left hook left Povetkin open and Joshua followed through with a straight right that sent the challenger to the canvas.

Povetkin gamely beat the count but Joshua piled in before referee Steve Gray stopped the contest at one minute and 59 seconds of the seventh round.

Victory saw Joshua extend his unbeaten professional record to 22 wins from 22 fights, with 21 knockouts, in front of a raucous home crowd.

“Povetkin is a very tough challenger, he proved that tonight with good left hooks and counter punches,” Joshua said from inside in the ring.

“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.”

Joshua, 28, had a significant height and reach advantage of several inches over Povetkin.

However, early on it was the smaller challenger who appeared the more inspired by the occasion, despite the constant boos and jeers from the partisan crowd, and he caught the Briton late in the first round with an uppercut on the nose.

Both men had won Olympic gold medals, but it was the youthful energy of the 28-year-old Joshua which proved decisive as Povetkin visibly tired halfway through the contest.

Joshua began dictating with his movement from the fourth round and started to find his range with his right hook and Povetkin sustained a bad cut over his left eye.

He was still in the contest at the end of the sixth only for Joshua to seal victory barely two minutes later.

The fight was the first of a two-match deal Joshua has agreed to stage at Wembley Stadium, with the second due to take place in April next year.

However, his plan to become the undisputed world heavyweight champion may have to wait a little longer as WBC title holder Deontay Wilder announced earlier on Saturday a showdown with Joshua’s compatriot and former world champion Tyson Fury on Dec 1 in the United States.

“My number one would be Wilder,” said Joshua. “May the champion bring himself here and have a good old fashioned dust-up.”

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2018