Anthony Joshua has shared the ring with some notable names in the heavyweight division and has not been short of having huge fights.
Coming onto the scene from a young age, Joshua has gathered plenty of great experience against a variety of opponents.
Still an active fighter, the former Olympian may add another notable name to his resume should Joshua take on Tyson Fury. However, the mega fight currently does not seem likely.
Despite this, there are still huge names that Joshua can reminisce on. This includes one fight that ‘AJ’ feels changed his career for the better.
Anthony Joshua says Wladimir Klitschko bout changed his life
When Joshua was asked about his thoughts on his epic 2017 world title fight with Wladimir Klitschko by Matchroom Boxing, the Englishman explained how it was a learning experience for him.
“What I learned after this fight [with Klitschko] is that there’s levels,” Joshua said. “This guy is the first guy who took me 11 rounds… He had a pedigree to be in that position to do that.”
“For me, I’ve always said that I need to be a cut above the rest, so I went away to improve, change my style, and so forth and it has brought me to where I am today you know. That fight is the fight which brought to this point here and big-time boxing is back.”
Anthony Joshua overcame adversity to defeat Wladimir Klitschko
Joshua and Klitschko met in April 2017, as the WBA, IBF, and IBO World heavyweight titles were on the line.
Klitschko was coming back to the ring after an almost 2-year absence following his loss to Fury. As for Joshua, the fight against the veteran would be the biggest test of his professional career.
In what was an incredible fight, both fighters were knocked down. ‘AJ’ hit the canvas in round six, in what was the first knockdown of Joshua’s career.
As well as that, Klitschko also suffered knockdowns with one in round five and two in the 11th round.
However, the 11th round would be the final of the bout, as Joshua was able to earn a remarkable TKO victory over the Ukrainian.