Joshua vs. Takam results: Anthony Joshua stops Carlos Takam, ref criticized for early stoppage

Carlos Takam acquitted himself well on short notice, but Anthony Joshua remained the WBA and IBF heavyweight champion with a 10th round stoppage.

Anthony Joshua (20-0, 20 KOs) once again packed a major stadium in the UK, with more than 75,000 in Cardiff, Wales seeing the heavyweight superstar take on short-notice replacement Carlos Takam (35-4-1, 27 KOs), who had several quality offensive moments but was ultimately outgunned. Takam’s chin was outstanding, and he was unfortunate to have the fight stopped in round 10.

The first notable moment came in round 2, as Takam busted up Joshua’s nose with a headbutt. Joshua was bleeding out of his nose as a result of that collision. After a fairly slow start, Joshua knocked Takam down with a left hook at the end of round 4. For those who expected Takam to be disposed of shortly thereafter, they were treated to Takam gutting it out and often tagging Joshua with some hard power punches. He still lost the majority of the rounds as the fight progressed, but he demonstrated an excellent chin and turned in a very respectable performance.

In round 10, with cuts above both eyes, Takam needed a miracle KO to get the win, but it was Joshua who turned up the heat. A right uppercut rocked Takam, and then Joshua went on the attack with several power shots. Not all of them landed clean, and somehow British referee Phil Edwards decided to intervene and stop the fight. It’s not very defensible when you look at the replay, and Takam should’ve been given the chance to continue, even though he was in some trouble.

Official result: Anthony Joshua def. Carlos Takam by TKO at 1:34 of round 10 to remain WBA and IBF heavyweight champion

Joshua later praised Takam for his efforts, and the crowd offered up a round of applause for the brave performance by Carlos Takam. The boxing world will now keep an eye on WBC champ Deontay Wilder, who fights Bermane Stiverne on November 4th in Brooklyn. Fans will be clamoring for Joshua vs. Wilder in 2018, but whether or not that happens is a different story.