ANTHONY JOSHUA'S GREATEST NIGHT
DILLIAN WHYTE - 02 ARENA - 7TH ROUND TKO (12-12-2015)
In his relatively short career to date, Anthony Joshua has enjoyed some memorable moments inside the ring. His explosive debut at the 02 Arena when he blasted Emanuele Leo inside a round introduced AJ to the professional ranks. Of course, his second round stoppage of Charles Martin in April of last year to be crowned IBF Heavyweight king takes some beating.
However, Joshua's most competitive fight to date was against his old amaetur enemy, Dillian Whyte, in December 2015. No secret was made of the fact that Whyte had beaten his opposite man in the amaetur ranks and the build up was as spiteful as it was entertaining.
The fight began in the same way that all of AJ's previous encounters had - with the Watford-born boxer handing out heavy punishment. The end of round 1 saw Joshua throw a punch after the bell, sparking a melee which saw members of both sides dive into the ring as Whyte chased Joshua throwing wild punches.
The second round would maybe have been the ideal opportunity for both men to regain their composure, but Whyte had other ideas. Midway through the round a left hook landed sweetly on Joshua's chin and his entire 6"6 frame wobbled as Whyte piled on the pressure.
AJ managed to make it to the end of the round but there was a genuine fear around the 02 Arena that the flag bearer of British boxing was on his way to a shock defeat.
The tables quickly turned from the start of the third round through to the end of the sixth with Joshua landing almost at will as Whyte slowed down.
The seventh round was where it all ended. Joshua landed a right hand to the temple of Whyte that had him dancing and a flurry of big shots after that sent "The Body Snatcher" crashing to the canvas with no chance of recovering. This proved to be AJ's final win before becoming champion of the world.