Anthony Joshua vs Wladimir Klitschko Preview April 29th
There will be 90,000 fans packed into the famous Wembley Stadium in London, England this Saturday, April 29th when England’s unbeaten Anthony Joshua defends his IBF Heavyweight Championship against former heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko of Ukraine. The WBA Super World Heavyweight Title and vacant IBO Belt will also be on the line. Fans in the U.S. can catch the action live on Showtime with HBO showing the bout on a tape-delay basis. Fans in the UK can view it live on Sky Box Office. Klitschko’s last fight was one of the worst in heavyweight history as he lost a unanimous decision to Tyson Fury in November of 2015. Joshua last fought in December and stopped Eric Molina in the third round.
Joshua vs Klitschko Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Wladimir Klitschko +225
- Anthony Joshua -265
My Pick
The 27-year-old Joshua is a former Olympic gold medalist who won the title in just his 16th pro bout and he enters the fight with a perfect record of 18-0 with a 100 per cent knockout ratio of with 18 stoppages. He ended his first 14 bouts and 16 of his 18 fights so far within the first three rounds. Joshua won the British title against Dillian Whyte in December of 2015 after winning gold at the 2012 Olympic Games at home in London. It’s safe to say he has better than average power, but his chin still hasn’t been tested up to now.
Joshua turned pro back in 2013 and has 44 rounds under his belt since. He’s a good-sized heavyweight by today’s standards as he stands 6-feet-6-inches tall and has a reach of 82 inches. Joshua’s most well-known opponents so far have been Molina, Dominic Breazeale, Martin, Whyte, Kevin Johnson, Matt Skelton and Michael Sprott. He won the IBF title by stopping Charles Martin in the second round last April and this will be his third defence.
Joshua is arguably a bit too muscle bound, but seems to possess pretty good boxing skills even if he is a bit robotic. The champ has decent mobility and upper body movement as well as a stiff jab. Joshua may try to stay away from a slugfest for the first few rounds by trying to box Klitschko and gauge his opponent’s power. He’ll try to using his jab and nailing the former champ whenever he sees an opening and will definitely go after Klitschko if he feels he’s hurt him.
The 41-year-old Klitschko is the former IBF, WBO, IBO, and WBA titleholder who has fought most of his career out of Germany. Once again, like he was against Fury, Klitschko won’t be the bigger man in the ring as he’s also 6-feet-6-inches tall with a one-inch reach disadvantage with his 81-inch wingspan. Klitschko is an impressive 64-4 with 53 Kos and has boxed 358 rounds since turning pro in 1996. He also has better-than-average power as Klitschko’s knockout ratio is currently 78 per cent.
Klitschko won his first title in 2000 by beating American Chris Byrd via unanimous decision. However, he wasn’t a dominant heavyweight back then as he was stopped by Ross Purity in 1998 while Corrie Sanders knocked him out in 2003 and Lamont Brewster did the same in 2004. He definitely had a weaker chin back then, but the loss to Fury was his first since Brewster stopped him 11 years earlier. In between, Klitschko took and on all comers and stopped most of them with impressive wins over Ray Mercer, Calvin Brock, Tony Thompson, Hasim Rahman, Ruslan Chagaev, David Haye, Bryant Jennings and Brewster in a rematch.
Klitschko may also seem to be a bit robotic to many fans, but he has a lot of mobility in the ring to go along with a heavy jab and a tremendous straight right hand. His chin hasn’t betrayed him over the past decade or so, but it’s still questionable. Klitschko looked absolutely terrible against Fury, who he should have been without a problem. However, he looked afraid to throw a punch in fear of getting hit in return. It’s unlikely Klitschko could be any worse than he was that night, but he’s also got about 17 months of ring rust to get through.
Prediction…
A very tough fight to call, Klitschko has the better boxing skills and needs to use them by establishing his battering-ram jab in the first round. If he fails to let his hands go like he did against Fury he’ll be a sitting duck. Klitschko has the experience and skill to out box the 14-year younger Joshua, but does he have the chin to take the champion’s best shots? This fight can go either way as well as a draw and we shouldn’t assume it’ll end in a stoppage. It all depends on Klitschko’s motivation and chin. Let’s give the former champ the benefit of the doubt here and say Klitschko doesn’t lose. He either wins or gets a draw.
A close call so there will be a lot of betting action on both guys.
Play: Klitschko +225 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form
Anthony Joshua betting • Wladimir Klitschko betting