Pulev out, Carlos Takam in

Kubrat Pulev has withdrawn from his fight with Anthony Joshua with Cameroon born French fighter Carlos Takam coming in.

Pulev suffered a shoulder injury in sparring. Takam was placed on standby by the IBF and Eddie Hearn so he has been training for this fight in case of a problem for either fighter.

Takam's record (35-3-1 27KO) is OK but the biggest names he has fought have all beaten him (Povetkin and Parker), drawn with Mike Perez and beaten washed up versions of Thompson, Sprott, Grant and Botha

Shame for Joshua as I think Pulev would have asked some questions of him. Takam should be easy work for AJ.

Takam and Pulev are/were easy work - the fact either were PPV is laughable really.

mobilemaster8 wrote:Takam and Pulev are/were easy work - the fact either were PPV is laughable really.

Let's be honest, it's Eddie cashing in on Joshua's fast rising stock. Making him PPV far too early and then fast tracking him to a title to justify the move. How amazing would it be to see a Brit fight for Heavyweight gold without it being behind the PPV wall

Sky Sports are really trying to make this fight seem competitive.

http://www.skysports.com/boxing/news/12183/11084849/joshua-vs-takam-anthony-joshua-must-refocus-his-troubled-mind-on-new-opponent-carlos-takam

Anthony Joshua should heed the warning signs after Carlos Takam was handed a late opportunity to snatch his heavyweight world titles.

The WBA 'super' and IBF champion has endured a turbulent training camp leading up to his next title defence, with Kubrat Pulev pulling out through injury less than a fortnight before the first bell was set to ring at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on October 28, live on Sky Sports Box Office.

Carlos Takam has replaced the injured Kubrat Pulev as the next challenger for Anthony Joshua on October 28
Joshua had been thinking of a lucrative rematch with Wladimir Klitschko in Las Vegas when he first returned to the gym a few months ago, but the Ukrainian opted for retirement instead of a repeat of their punishing encounter and Pulev was next in line for a shot at the titles.

The France-based Cameroonian cuts a formidable figure, with a muscle-bound physique and steely glare, leaving opponents in no doubt that they must ready themselves for a demanding fight.

Current WBO champion Joseph Parker can supply a character reference of Takam's toughness after they shared 12 brutal rounds before the relieved New Zealander emerged with a points victory.

What a great fighter Carlos Takam is," said Parker after his chin and stamina had been tested. "We said this was going to be a hard fight. I had to have my A-game.

"That was a tough, exciting fight."

Joshua has broken the resistance of all 19 of his previous opponents, although he could require a scalpel rather than a sledge hammer to gradually prise open Takam's tight guard.

Takam's concrete-like chin is renowned in the division and it has been shattered only once in a sole stoppage loss to Alexander Povetkin, while 27 knockouts in 35 wins shows that Joshua cannot disregard his own defences.

Up until this week, Joshua's training regime had been tailored for Pulev, a 6'4" tall jab-right hand exponent, and the champion now has little time to bring in sparring partners to replicate the squat, come-forward aggression of Takam.

Late replacements have posed serious problems in the past as Lennox Lewis would testify after he switched his sights from a routine defence against Canadian Kirk Johnson to Vitali Klitschko

mobilemaster8 wrote:Takam and Pulev are/were easy work - the fact either were PPV is laughable really.

Not really, people will pay to watch him regardless of who he fights.

Eddie Hearn was saying the other day that the four best heavyweights in the world are - Joshua, Wilder, Ortiz and PULEV.

Pulev pulls out and we have an article by Johnny Nelson saying Takam is a tougher nights work for Joshua than Pulev.

I know they are different people, but both essentially trying to sell the fight for Sky.

LionsV2 wrote:

mobilemaster8 wrote:Takam and Pulev are/were easy work - the fact either were PPV is laughable really.

Not really, people will pay to watch him regardless of who he fights.

Well...yes really. Why would you pay to watch someone fight Takam?

I watched Wlad vs Pulev around 5 years ago on Sky Sports.

At the time Wlad was in his prime, Pulev was undefeated and 5 years younger......if anything THAT could have been PPV worthy. Not this.

Just because the guy is a heavyweight and British....its no justification to PPV screen EVERY fight. In my eyes anyway.

Granted if he fights Wilder its PPV - and I agree with the Wlad fight.

But come one. Pulev? Takam? Brezeale? Whyte?

Yet I can watch Mayweather vs Canelo on Boxnation? Or Crolla vs Linares? You know...competitive fights?

Never the less - the money grabbers are out to rinse people - more fool them

We're talking about the biggest name in British boxing and Heavyweight champion; Joshua is PPV worthy no matter who he fights, people are tuning in to watch him not his opponent.

How on earth is Wlad v Pulev PPV worthy, neither of them are a draw in this country, ridiculous logic I'm afraid.

Biggest name due to being an Olympic medalist....he was headlining PPV against Whyte for Pete's sake. Do us a favour.

The logic behind Wlad Vs Pulev was that it was 5 years ago...Pulev was undefeated...Wlad had years and years of going undefeated. Wasn't even PPV in Germany yet he had been headlining stadiums and unified champion for god knows how long.

As I say...rip off.

Germany doesn't do PPV that's why not that it matters when discussing a British boxer fighting in Britain on British TV, chuck in guaranteed excitement and you've got PPV.

Is there a possibility that Takam gives AJ a tougher fight than most people think?

Only stopped by Povetkin (easily done to most HW's) and went the distance with Parker (probably says more about Parker than Takam IMO). Takam does appear to have that heavy necked head built for punches look. I've gone for AJ via distance or late stoppage. Anyone think differently, why?

Can't see Takam being any problem for Joshua even though he did beat Parker he didn't look like stopping him. He was robbed against Parker but I think after seeing the punches that Joshua took from Wlad that Takam's punches wont be hard enough to stop him.

rapidringsroad wrote:Can't see Takam being any problem for Joshua even though he did  beat Parker he didn't look like stopping him. He was robbed against Parker but I think after seeing the punches that Joshua took from Wlad that Takam's punches wont be hard enough to stop him.

Wlad should have finished him though. For all AJs qualities I think his biggest weakness may be his chin. I'm not saying it's glass but he can definitely be hurt as we saw in the amateurs then in the pros against Whyte and Wlaf. Landing though is a different matter and I can't see Takem doing that and I think he will be out if there in 6 one sided rounds. I would say an AJ opponent always has a punchers chance like most do in that division.

Takam might be durable enough to avoid a highlight reel KO but i don't think he's faced anyone with the power AJ possesses. I can't see it going past 5. Joshua backs Takam up on the ropes, massive amount of unanswered punches, Ref stoppage.

Got a tenner on this Takam fellow at 18/1. Not expecting a return, but Joshua isn't the unbeatable warrior that the media hypes him to be, and I think he'll lose soon-ish (maybe tonight?).

It only takes one shot.

What a load of nonsense, any wonder why people think boxing is a crock of Poopie. It's because it's true

Loved boxing over the years but now it ain't much better than fixed WWF

Disgusting stoppage by the referee.

Looked like he was trying to find any excuse to jump in and stop the fight because AJ was gassing badly at the end of the fight.

Makes me sick to see these things happen in boxing.

Takam was tough as nails, he has fought with the bad eye for 6 rounds, so why on earth stop it when there are only two rounds left.

The stoppage was a farce, Takam wasn't even in any trouble, Joshua was knackered and didn't have Takam in any trouble when the ref stopped it.

Soon as it was stopped i thought FIX, the ref seemed far too keen to stop the fight as he repeatedly kept asking the ringside doctor to check the bad eye, even though Takam was growing in confidence.

I don't say this lightly but from what i was watching Takam was in with a shout of stopping AJ in the last couple of rounds as Joshua was spent, was getting hit by Takam's hooks was was having to resort to holding.

Complete fix, they saw Joshua was in trouble and ended the fight early.

Yes I'm old, it's still WWF, opal fruits and marathons!!

Cannot give enough credit to Takam but what on earth is going on in boxing these days.

It's a heavyweight title fight for god sake and the fight is stopped without the challenger not being in the slightest hint of trouble.

Complete bullsh&t and that idiotic ref should not be allowed anywhere near a big time fight again

Joshua's performance was poor and reaffirms my belief that he is over rated and due to his physique, will always have stamina issues - by round 9 he was gassing badly.

Supremely brave is Takam. Proper performance, on short-notice. I doff a metaphorical cap to him.

Stoppage was 50-50. On one hand, Takam had taken a hell of a lot of punishment over the course of the fight; on the other, he didn't seem to be severely hurt by the succession of shots that Joshua landed.

Genuinely think the challenger deserves a rematch after that gallantry, though I would imagine he's unlikely to get one.

What a joke. You’d want a 50:50 split of the cash to fight AJ at home. At least you’d get a payday after getting shafted by bent referees. AJ knew it to.

Whole plan of taking Joshua late to tire him out and ref can't be arsed or more than likely paid off to make sure it didn't happen

The ref ruined what would have been a very interesting last two rounds.

AJ was holding takam in that last round.

If you look at the replays, the so called heavy shots which Joshua landed and which prompted the ref to jump in, were all slipped by Takam.

The powers that be want to maintain Joshua's KO rate and more importantly his unblemished record.

Let's be honest he didn't have a lot left and AJ wasn't particularly tired.

Bad stoppage. Likely enacted to preserve Joshua's KO ratio rather than Takams welfare.

I would say about 50% of fights I watch these days have some sort of unsatisfactory scoring or officiating.

LionsV2 wrote:Let's be honest he didn't have a lot left and AJ wasn't particularly tired.

Really??

Takam had just won the previous round - and that's not just my opinion - a lot of observers had him winning round 9, in fact it was probably his best round of the fight.

As for AJ not being tired, perhaps you missed all the holding he was doing in rounds 9 and 10, on numerous occasions, he had Takam's arm in a clinch.

It is not difficult to see when AJ is gassing as his movement goes out of the window and he starts to physically sag, all the signs were there that he was knackered.

You're seeing what you want to see, he was in complete control throughout and a premature stoppage doesn't alter that.

He may well have been in control but what has that got to do with a premature stoppage??

To say he was going to win anyway is such a pointless argument i cannot even be bothered to respond to it.

This is heavyweight boxing, Takam was still throwing shots and was not hurt at the time of the stoppage, also, he had just had his best round of the fight prior to the stoppage, so you tell me how does your observation that AJ was in complete control warrant that fight being stopped?

The stoppage was complete BS. Yes takam caught a few but he wasn't out in his feet and he was literally in the middle of slipping AJ's shots when the ref jumped in.

It's hard work being a boxing fan at the moment. Unsatisfactory referees and judges are a stain on the sport.

All it takes is one punch to change a fight, as long as both guys are still standing and one isnt blocking shots with his chin the referee has absolutely no business stopping the fight.

The referee was 100% looking to preserve AJ's stoppage record, no doubt about it.

A rematch is in order here. I know they say he stays fit and he had a full camp but he deserves a proper camp and the build up that goes with it after that effort.

Many will disagree obviously, but if Tyson Fury comes back and gets anywhere near the level he was at for the Wlad fight I think he makes AJ look foolish. He'd have him gassed and out on his feet by round 8 just on movement alone.

I see the cynical anti-Hearn lobby are out in full voice...

I didn't pay for the crap last night...But by all accounts it was an easy shutout..

As for paying referees and judges....Too bad he didn't pay for Eggington last week in a fight which wouldn't have been a scandal had young Sam won.

Before you say Fury makes Josh look foolish.. perhaps remember what people were writing before the Fury v Wlad stinker that both fighters deserved to lose.

You may not like Josh..You may not like Hearn and that is fair play but stop with all this Fury schools Josh crap...

Because he isn't that good....

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:I see the cynical anti-Hearn lobby are out in full voice...

That's all this nonsense is, people desperate to see him lose because of his promoter, people take these things far too seriously.

The training camp excuse doesn't really hold water, Takam was in training for a fight with AJ from the get go and whilst he had 12 days notice he had a full camp with the expected opponent being known whereas AJ thought he was fighting Pulev.

The difficulties were caused by a fairly deliberate headbutt that all and sundry are ignoring because it doesn't suit their agenda, it was ultimately a fairly comfortable win with only one possible winner.

Terrible stoppage

It's nothing to do with Hearn. I don't even mind the bloke.

People think that stoppage was fair then you should go and find another sport.

Trussman as usual you didn't watch it yet have plenty to say about it....

Joshua must be really unpopular. All of those thousands in attendance and boxing affiliates on social media criticisng the stoppage must have been hoping he was going to lose.

Gotta wade in with my 2 penneth worth here as some of what's being written is ridiculous in the extreme.

The stoppage was premature and Takam definitely deserved to see out what was left of the fight and see if he would be the first man to go the distance with AJ.

At no point did AJ look in any trouble whatsover, he took some clean hits of Takam which didn't seem to shake him and I had him winning every round quite comfortably.

Joshua was not gassed, or knackered, everyone says the same every fight with him but it's the way he boxes, it looked like he could go another 10 at the interviews in the end.

Think the ref jumped in and preserved Joshuas 100 percent KO record (which includes Wlad don't forget) but Takam had no chance.

A bit like the Whyte fight, people are overhyping Takam too much, he had his shot and didn't take it, lets get AJ in with the bigger fights now (Wilder, Parker and Fury IF he can get into contention).

Thought the commentating for the Katie Taylor fight was absolutely awful and made KT look quite bad despite the fact she won convincingly.


Catchy - Alas Success breeds envy and people hate it when they're wrong. Those that don't like Joshua are still hurting that he got past Klitschko (and shown a chin doing it) now it's time to tear him down whereever they can.

I dont think so. I think people just realise it was a badly timed stoppage. That includes numerous of joshuas supporters capable of excercising common sense.

Whilst we can agree it was a bad stoppage (ala Froch/Groves I), the shouts of 'fix' (I'm sure i saw robbery somewhere as well ???), Joshua was on his way to losing, it was close blah blah blah are ridiculous.

As I stated, Takam should have got to see more of the fight but to think the outcome was in doubt is Wumming at best and 'you need to see your doctor' at worst.

It's funny because a week or so a go a lot of people were complaining that this was a nothing fight but all of a sudden it was close and Takam should get a rematch etc. Ballcrap imo.

Oh also Love the way Joshua has the crowd eating out of his hand, and Mr Hearn plays the panto villain so well

Reaffirms my belief,Anthony Joshua is a "B" level fighter, probably on a par with Deontay.
Reading the above comments and other expert opinions it's a little surprising to me how people simply shrug about the protection that this guy gets from the boxing industry.
A very lucky champion as he's in a weak era.And it's a weak era because people are giving up on the sport.Ironic that he lost to Wladimir, another limited boxer who he got at the end of his career let's no forget-Without a genius like Emmanuel Steward though Anthony Joshua is likely to get unstuck more times than Wlad did;I foresee an Amir Khan like career for him,i.e. frustrating for all involved

He lost to Wlad? There goes your credibility.

I don't think you'll hear anyone say that the heavyweight era is anything but weak (hell there's no real gap between British and world level), the top fighters are AJ, Wilder, Parker, a seemingly retired Fury, then you've got Pulev, Povetkin, Whyte, Chisora which tells you what you need to know.

At no point have I (or others) proclaimed AJ the second coming of Ali, what I have said is it's ridiculous people trying to make out like this was some test/robbery or others, a bad stoppage, of course it was was it a stoppage in which AJ was gonna lose, not a chance.

LionsV2- ha ha,good spot.Ironic that he fought Wlad,I meant to say!I guess a Freudian interpretation would be ,that he almost lost to Wladimir-although I guess that's a bit mean.
As for my credibility, I did have some once,but alas this is not the first of such mistakes!

Derbymac,I agree and wouldn't take issue with the points that you made previously.

Nah. The stopage was a bad one. I dont see any comments disputing joshua was winning. Some saying he was tiring. Some saying the stoppage was done to preserve joshuas ko record. Fair enough if you ask me.


It precisely that kind of officiating that tells you what you need you know. It spoils boxing. Joshua was likely going to win anyway but thats not a valid reason to dismiss poor officiating. Leo santa cruz benefited from one the other week and the same hypocrite who criticised that stoppage attacks people for criticisng this stoppage.

EX7EY wrote:It's nothing to do with Hearn. I don't even mind the bloke.

People think that stoppage was fair then you should go and find another sport.

Trussman as usual you didn't watch it yet have plenty to say about it....

I wasn't bothered enough to line Hearn's pockets for a card that wasn't PPV you're right there....Unlike the anti Hearn brigade that make him richer and moan about him.

Not seen a piece which has the fight close....and I remember Fury v Cunningham and the original Fury v Wlad fight..(The one where one guy was too scared to throw a punch and the other guy too cumbersome to throw one)

You can disagree and good luck to you.

sobered up from last nights ramblings but the stoppage is still very very weak.

i have always loved the heavyweight division, even in the sad state it has been in recently there is nothing like a heavyweight fight to get excited about. why? well its the one division where no matter whats happening it only takes one punch to change the fight.

it was very unlikely that takam was going to trouble AJ, but doesnt mean that he has that chance taken away from him for no reason. it was very unlikely that douglas would beat tyson, that rahman would knock out lewis but they happened.

The reffing in britain now for me is worse than anywhere else. they are so biased to "hometown" fighters its unreal

Derbymanc wrote:Whilst we can agree it was a bad stoppage (ala Froch/Groves I), the shouts of 'fix' (I'm sure i saw robbery somewhere as well ???), Joshua was on his way to losing, it was close blah blah blah are ridiculous.

As I stated, Takam should have got to see more of the fight but to think the outcome was in doubt is Wumming at best and 'you need to see your doctor' at worst.

It's funny because a week or so a go a lot of people were complaining that this was a nothing fight but all of a sudden it was close and Takam should get a rematch etc. Ballcrap imo.

Oh also Love the way Joshua has the crowd eating out of his hand, and Mr Hearn plays the panto villain so well

How are the fights of fix ridiculous when you have a referee stopping a fight of this magnitude for no good reason whatsoever.

There were only two rounds left, takam had been fighting with the cut eye for the previous six rounds, so what justification is there to stop the fight when he's slipping Joshua's so called bombs.

Look back at the footage, as soon as AJ landed the first shot (which did land) the ref was itching to jump in, the only reason he didnt stop it after that initial shot was because he was too slow to get between them and subsequently AJ threw two more shots, both of which were slipped and as takam was preparing to counter, that idiot called off the fight.

It is a disgrace to british officiating when there are stoppages like this.

Read some of the comments on other sites, the americans in particular laugh their asses off at the weakness of our officials.

No one is saying takam was going to win the fight or that it was close but the fact remains that he had just had his best round and AJ was starting to take shots.

I couldn't care less of this was a matchroom card, it has nothing to do with eddie hearn but the way this fight was stopped suggests something untoward has taken place

B.A. BARACUS wrote:

It is a disgrace to british officiating when there are stoppages like this.

Read some of the comments on other sites, the americans in particular laugh their asses off at the weakness of our officials.

This is where it gets ridiculous, there are terrible stoppages in America all the time so that's a load of drivel quite frankly.

catchweight wrote:Nah. The stopage was a bad one. I dont see any comments disputing joshua was winning. Some saying he was tiring. Some saying the stoppage was done to preserve joshuas ko record. Fair enough if you ask me.


It precisely that kind of officiating that tells you what you need you know. It spoils boxing. Joshua was likely going to win anyway but thats not a valid reason to dismiss poor officiating. Leo santa cruz benefited from one the other week and the same hypocrite who criticised that stoppage attacks people for criticisng this stoppage.

Exactly.

The argument that AJ was bossing the fight and was going to win anyway is nonsense.

If that's the way certain people want to look at it, then why bother having set 12 round fights - why not just call a fight off once one fighter has built an unassailable lead??

B.A. BARACUS wrote:

catchweight wrote:Nah. The stopage was a bad one. I dont see any comments disputing joshua was winning. Some saying he was tiring. Some saying the stoppage was done to preserve joshuas ko record. Fair enough if you ask me.


It precisely that kind of officiating that tells you what you need you know. It spoils boxing. Joshua was likely going to win anyway but thats not a valid reason to dismiss poor officiating. Leo santa cruz benefited from one the other week and the same hypocrite who criticised that stoppage attacks people for criticisng this stoppage.

Exactly.

The argument that AJ was bossing the fight and was going to win anyway is nonsense.

If that's the way certain people want to look at it, then why bother having set 12 round fights - why not just call a fight off once one fighter has built an unassailable lead??

Why over react and get silly...

Why did Dave Allen lose his Commonwealth fight a few months ago ??...Why did Hearn prospect Cardle lose to a journeyman a few months ago ??...Why did Eggington lose last week ??....Why didn't Crolla get the nod in the first Linares fight ??..Why did Campbell a hot prospect lose a reasonably close fight to that French guy in England ?

None of those were good business for Matchroom....

Not everybody is corrupt and why does it only ever seem a problem to some when they don't like the result ??.