Getty UKHeavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has just broken a record previously held by ‘The Greatest’, Muhammad Ali.
Britain’s prizefighter and opponent Carlos Takam made history tonight as they faced off in front of a crowd of 78,000 people at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
This evening’s clash crushed the attendance record for an indoor arena, a record previously held by the late-great Muhammad Ali back in 1978.
His fight with Leon Spinks, which held the record for 39 years, drew 63,315 fans to the Superdome in New Orleans. This was the second meeting between Ali and Spinks, who recorded a shock victory over Ali in their first meeting making him the only man to take a title from Ali in the ring.
Ali won the rematch by unanimous decision and regained the WBA and Lineal Heavyweight Championships, the fight was notable for being the last bout Ali won before his loss to Trevor Berbick – which resulted in his retirement.
However AJ, the reigning WBA, IBF and IBO heavyweight champion, crushed the attendance record today together with his win over Takam.
Getty UKSpeaking to The Mirror before the fight, promoter Eddie Hearn said:
We’ve never seen anything like this in British boxing and we may never see anything like it again.
This fight will be broadcast in over 160 countries worldwide.
While this may be new territory Carlos Takam, Anthony Joshua is no stranger to fighting in front of a big crowd. In May this year Joshua defeated heavyweight legend Wladimir Klitschko in the 11th round in front of a sold out Wembley Stadium.
The venue was crammed with 90,000 fans to watch the heavyweight fight of the year – and before you get itchy trigger fingers in the comments section Wembley Stadium is an outdoor venue which has a roof that only half-closes.
Joshua beat Takam, who was a last minute replacement after original opponent Kubrat Pulev pulled out through injury.
The Watford-born boxer is now hoping to for a unification title match with either the US’s Deontay Wilder, who holds the WBC title, or New Zealand’s Joseph Parker, who holds the WBO title.
Prior to the fight, AJ took on an entirely new opponent on Bear’s Mission With… on ITV with ex-SAS commando and survival expert Bear Grylls.
In the episode Grylls took Joshua to Cornwall to climb cliffs used in Royal Marines training and eat rotted sheep’s leg and maggots.
ITV / Betty / Mark JohnsonJoshua also opened up to Grylls about the challenges of being a father and the kind of future he wants to leave for his son.
