Anthony Joshua steps back into the ring for the first time since his victory over Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley on Saturday when he faces Carlos Takam. The challenger wasn’t the original opponent Joshua was supposed to take on this weekend, that should have been Bulgarian fighter Kubrat Pulev. However, he pulled out due to a shoulder injury with less than two weeks to go before the fight. Takam had been on standby, so should be in good shape, something we will find out when he steps into the ring on Saturday night.
The fight takes place in Cardiff at the Principality Stadium, meaning it is the first time Joshua has fought outside of England, something he will be doing a lot more in the future. As is usually the case with a big fight in the UK, the fight is scheduled to take place around 11 pm on Saturday night, although that could change depending on the length of fights we see on the undercard.
While Joshua is favourite for this fight, and he should have enough in hand to win the bout comfortably, this change of opponent is not ideal for him. He will have been preparing for weeks to face Pulev, only to have his plans changed at the last minute. Takam is a completely different boxer to Pulev, he is much taller and has the power to hurt any boxer he fights. The change of opponent will keep Joshua on his toes though, and things like this happening are only going to help him be a better boxer in time, it is a good experience for him.
Joshua comes into the fight with an unbeaten record, with 19 wins from 19 fights, all of them coming by knockout. Takam is far more experienced than Joshua, he has fought 39 times, winning 35 of those bouts, drawing one and losing three. He knows what it takes to win a fight, and he certainly has enough power to knock an opponent down, but he has yet to face anyone in the same league as Joshua and that is likely to be his undoing on Saturday night.
Joshua will defend his IBF and WBA belts on Saturday night for the first time since he was victorious over Wladimir Klitschko and Wembley Stadium. That was a real tough fight for Joshua, although he will have also learnt a great deal from it. It was the first time we have seen Joshua really tested that night, and at one point, Klitschko was the clear favourite to win the fight as Joshua looked in trouble. However, he rallied well and showed his heart before knocking down the big Ukrainian in the 11th round.
While Joshua probably won’t need to show the same heart and toughness as he did that night when he faces Takam, it is great to see that he has it in his locker. There will be a time when Joshua has to take on someone of a much better standard than Takam, and that Klitschko fight is going to stand him in good stead for that battle when it arrives.
If we are to see a shock on Saturday night then it is going to be one punch from Takam that does the damage. He can hit hard and that could cause Joshua a problem if he manages to connect. He doesn’t appear to be the sort of boxer who can grind someone down before taking advantage late in the fight, so he will have to rely on his punch to do some damage to Joshua. While that threat remains there is always the possibility that the challenger could spring an upset and shock the boxing world, although we don’t believe that has much chance of happening.
Our Predictions
The upcoming fight has nowhere near the same amount of enthusiasm and excitement surrounding it as the last Joshua fight, but it is still one to watch with interest. The change of opponent is an
intriguing sub-plot in this fight and will have disrupted Joshua’s training camp. That combined with the fact that Takam looks to have the power to knock good boxers on the floor and Anthony Joshua is going to have to be careful that he doesn’t arrive into the ring too confident on Saturday.
Despite coming in with just two weeks’ notice, Takam will be prepared for this fight due to a deal he had to be a stand-in. He will also have known his opponent and prepared for Joshua in the hope that his chance would come like it has done. He is dangerous, he has absolutely nothing to lose going into the fight, but the big question is, does Takam actually have the ability to trouble Anthony Joshua in this fight?
The answer to that in our eyes is no. Joshua has fought nowhere near as many times as Takam but has already faced and beaten far superior boxers. His training camp will have been disrupted due to Pulev pulling out of the fight, and he does have to prepare for a completely different opponent, but that still shouldn’t stop Joshua from recording a comfortable victory here.
In the past we have seen Joshua take his time with fighters he is wary of, making sure he doesn’t make any silly mistakes and leave himself wide open. We expect to see him do this again on Saturday, so our prediction isn’t a first or second round knockout like some are predicting. However, we don’t think it will take long for Joshua to get the upper hand in this fight and we are predicting that he will knock down his opponent and win the fight in the fourth round.
This should be good to watch like every Anthony Joshua fight is, but ultimately he should have far too much class for his opponent and should take his record to 20 wins, with 20 knockouts on Saturday.
How to watch the fight
This weekend’s fight will be shown live on Sky Sports Box Office, and you can order the fight now. It costs £19.99 to buy the fight in Britain and you can purchase through your TV remote if you are a Sky subscriber. If you want to watch on any other platform you will need to contact your operator to order the fight.
There will be scheduled repeats of the fight taking place at various times on Sunday 29th October and these can be viewed by anyone who buys the event.
Joshua v Takam Betting Odds
Anthony Joshua is a huge favourite to win this fight with betting sites, and because of that many are predicting the fight will be over pretty quickly. The odds below are the best prices available at the time of writing.
Joshua is a best price of 1/25 to win the contest, while Takam can be backed to win the fight at 45/2. The draw is the outsider in the betting and you can back the draw at 50/1.
If you think Joshua will win the fight by a KO, TKO or Disqualification then he can be backed at 1/12 to do so, with Takam available to do the same at 20/1.
With the fight being so one-sided a lot of people will be looking at round betting, which is a great way to get involved at bigger prices.
Joshua to win in Round One 7/1
Joshua to win in Round Two 5/1
Joshua to win in Round Three 5/1
Joshua to win in Round Four 13/2
Joshua to win in Round Five 8/1
Joshua to win in Round Six 10/1
Joshua to win in Round Seven 14/1
Joshua to win in Round Eight 25/1
Joshua to win in Round Nine 40/1
Joshua to win in Round Ten 50/1
Joshua to win in Round Eleven 80/1
Joshua to win in Round Twelve 100/1
Joshua to win on Points 12/1
Whether you are looking to get involved in the outright victory, or on the round betting market, there are many ways to bet on Saturday night’s big fight.
Joshua v Takam Betting Offers
As the fight draws closer, many bookmakers will create special offers for you to take advantage of this weekend. These offers can enhance the odds of certain outcomes or can offer free bets, but either way, make sure you keep an eye out for them. Here are the latest betting offers on the Joshua v Takam bout.
– If you are betting on what round the fight will be won in then take a look at the offer Betway have on the fight. They are offering a money back to anyone who backs a losing round if the fight is over inside the first two rounds. To qualify you have to place a bet of £5, and your maximum return will be a £10 free bet.
– William Hill are offering top price on round betting compared to their select competitors, so if you are looking for the best price around to place your bets on when the fight will finish, check them ou