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The wait is over. Anthony Joshua will be fighting for a world title sooner than we expected.
Matchroom Promoter Eddie Hearn announced last Monday that a deal pitting Joshua against newly crowned IBF Heavyweight champion Charles Martin has been finalized. The two will fight on April 9th at the O2 Arena in London.
Unlike other big fights that are tough to make, this one was worked on only for a couple of weeks according to Hearn. Martin was willing to take on all comers while Joshua never hesitated when the opportunity to become a world champion was presented. As a result, Britain will be cheering for a second current heavyweight champion two months from now.
Joshua turned pro in 2013 after capturing Olympic gold in 2012. The 6-6, 245-pound Joshua has boxed only a total of 32 professional boxing rounds in a career that has been a perfect 15-0 with 15 KOs. Seven of those total rounds came against amateur rival Dillian Whyte last December 13th where Joshua avenged a 2009 amateur defeat. The bout will mark the first time the 26-year old prospect headlines an event in London.
Martin won the vacant IBF title when he defeated the previously unbeaten Vyacheslav Glazkov via TKO last January 16th. Martin though didn’t put Glazov down during the fight. Instead, Glazkov injured his ACL and dislocated his knee during a slip and was unable to continue. Despite that circumstance, Martin is undefeated at 23-0-1 with 21 KOs.
Glazkov was unified Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury’s mandatory challenger for the IBF belt but after Fury vacated the title to fulfill his contractual obligation to rematch Wladimir Klitschko, the next highest ranked contender was elevated to the title bout. That was Martin and he made the most out of his chance.
Joshua, the Commonwealth Heavyweight titleholder, ends fighting for a world title ahead of his planned schedule. But with the opportunity to fight a guy like Martin, his chances to become a world champion in 2016 are much higher than waiting for Tyson Fury. Should he go on to win the IBF belt, a possible Fury-Joshua title bout late this year could be next provided Fury repeats over Wlad. Should that happen, it could be the biggest fight in British boxing history with two British World Heavyweight champions slugging it out for the undisputed world title.
