Charles Martin vs. Anthony Joshua
The landscape of the heavyweight division has drastically changed over the last year and a half. Once it looked like Wladimir Klitschko and everyone else but now a slew of talented fighters and young prospects have emerged which have given the division new life. Two of those young fighters are Charles Martin and Anthony Joshua and they will meet this Saturday on Showtime for a 12-round fight with Martin's IBF title on the line.
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| Martin won his title because of an injury |
Martin is a tall southpaw with heavy hands. While his jab is great, or used often enough, he does follow it up with a heavy straight left hand which is probably his best punch. Along with his powerful straight left Martin also carries a dangerous right hook but he isn't without his flaws. Often times Martin will keep his hands fairly low and while that hasn't presented a problem yet he has yet to face anyone with the punching power of Joshua. One thing Martin does have going for him though is the fact that he is a very patient fighter which could help him in a big fight like this where emotions will be running high.
Although Martin boasts an unbeaten record of 23-0-1 with an impressive 21 knockouts he only has one notable opponent on his resume, Vyacheslav "Czar" Glazkov. Unfortunately not much was learned about Martin in that fight because it ended in the third round when Glazkov went down with a knee injury and was unable to continue. Not only will the fight against Joshua be the biggest of Martin's career but it will also tell how good he actually is, or isn't.
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| Some believe Joshua is the future of the division |
Joshua, also a very tall fighter, plies his trade out of the orthodox stance. He is a very athletic fighter and his excellent physic is one reason some people he has a very bright future in the sport. The jab of Joshua is probably a bit better than Martin's but he uses it mainly as a measuring stick for his stiff straight right hand. With that punch Joshua also has a heavy left hook but when he throws it he will sometimes leave himself open to be countered. While Joshua will get a bit wilder than Martin he can get away with it because he has the faster hands between the two. One thing to watch out for is the uppercuts from Joshua which he will sneak in from time to time with success.
Like his opponent on Saturday night Joshua's resume doesn't exactly jump off the page. His record is a perfect 15-0 with all of those wins coming by the way of knockout but the only real name on his resume is Dillian Whyte who was his most recent opponent. While Joshua won that fight he was hurt and Whyte showed that Joshua doesn't like fighting with a jab in his face. Also, most of Joshua's fights have ended very quickly and in his 15 career fights he has only gone a total of 32 rounds. In comparison Martin, in 24 fights has gone 74 rounds.
This should be a close fight throughout. Who will win may depend on who can adapt to their opponent. Martin doesn't always enter the ring in great shape so Joshua should look to bang the body early, something he doesn't do much of. For his part Martin should really make use of his jab to keep Joshua on his back foot and uncomfortable. Joshua's chin was checked by Whyte in his last fight and Whyte was able to hurt him. While Whyte is a good puncher Martin has heavier hands a similar blow from him could floor Joshua. Also, in his entire professional career Joshua has never faced a southpaw and Martin is a southpaw with serious power. Because he won't be used to seeing punches come from the southpaw stance Martin could catch him with something he doesn't see.
PREDICTION: This fight will be a close one and it could come down to who is stronger later. Neither fighter is used to going deep in fights so stamina will play a major role in the outcome. In his last fight Anthony Joshua looked winded in the third round and in this fight Charles Martin will be able to drop him in the later rounds which will help him eek out a majority decision win.
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