Anthony Joshua faces heavyweight great Wladimir Klitschko on Saturday night in front of a packed Wembley crowd. Are the 90,000 strong army of spectators about to see a huge changing of the guard at the top of the sport?
Joshua is aiming to prove himself after three years as a professional, by claiming a scalp in his biggest fight yet. Can he back up his excellent record so far by seeing off Klitschko? The Ukrainian is hoping for another chance to dominate the heavyweight division, and he knows this is his final shot. After many failed attempts to set up a rematch with Tyson Fury, could this bout be the former champions’ way back into the big time, or perhaps at least to go out at the top?
Who Will Win The Fight?
Joshua comes in to this bout with 18 knockouts from 18 fights as a pro, and he’ll be aiming to make it 19 from 19 on Saturday. Facing Klitschko is a major step up for the IBF title holder, especially as he can claim the other two vacant belts on offer with a victory. Claiming a win would launch his career into the stratosphere, while a defeat could set him back, possibly putting his career back for good. There’s so much riding on this clash, especially with Klitschko hoping for a final hurrah.
However, the Ukrainian is stepping into the ring at 41-years-old, 17 months after his last fight. That somewhat surprising loss to Fury must have festered, and it’s pushing him back into this bout. It seems like a tall order for Klitschko, despite his bags of experience, technical ability and incredible achievements in boxing.
However, looking at Joshua, who is in peak condition, we can only see one winner. Klitschko looked poor against Fury, and he seemed scared to get hit in that bout, which seemed to catch up with him. Against a big hitter like Joshua, we don’t give the challenger much hope, and neither do the bookies. Joshua is 2/5 favourite with Coral, and that’s who we are siding with. Those odds are short but look solid enough value to us.
- Betting Tip – Anthony Joshua at 2/5 with Coral
Other Betting Tips and Predictions
Looking back on Joshua’s record, there are plenty of ways to boost that price and back more success for the Brit. As we mentioned, Joshua comes into this bout with a perfect record of knockouts, and we don’t expect him to suddenly change his style now. He’s 4/5 with Betfair to win by KO, TKO or disqualification, which we think is excellent value.
Joshua’s 18 pro fights have seen just two go past the sixth round and both of those were ended in the seventh. He’s not a fighter who wants to hang around, and we can’t see him being patient on Saturday. We’re backing Joshua to end this one within the first six rounds at nice odds of 15/8 with Sky Bet.
However, we can’t see another stoppage within the first three rounds for Joshua, something he’s routinely managed. We’re backing him to edge this fight in the fifth, when we think Klitschko’s ring rust will start to show. A fifth round stoppage is available at tasty odds of 12/1 with BetVictor, which is certainly worth a few quid for those who fancy something at big odds.