Anthony Joshua is one of the hardest hitters in the heavyweight division, but that doesn’t mean he is impervious to the power of others.
Former two-time heavyweight king ‘AJ’ has knocked out 25 of the 28 men he has beaten in the ring. He is an explosive puncher with an almost 90% knockout ratio and has faced plenty of hard hitters himself. Dillian Whyte famously rocked him in their British heavyweight title grudge match back in 2015.
Then there was Wladimir Klitschko, who put him down for the first time in his career with a huge right hand in the 6th round of their fight in 2017. The Brit eventually stopping ‘Dr Steel Hammer’ in the 11th round.
In a resurfaced Instagram Live with JD Sports, Joshua admitted that Klitschko was the hardest he had ever been hit.
“Who hit me the hardest? Yeah, Klitschko. When I went in with Klitschko I just knew this could go two ways. I could either win or I’m gonna be laid out on my back. You know when you get carried out on a stretcher? … This guy’s a beast, he’s a beast.”
Joshua admitted that he did consider picking Andy Ruiz Jr who later beat him by stoppage at Madison Square Garden in 2019 and handed him his first professional loss.
“I was gonna say Ruiz Jr, but when he hit me that like a concussion on the back of my head.”
Joshua avenged that loss in the immediate rematch and has not been stopped again, though he did lose back-to-back fights with Oleksandr Usyk before going on his current run of four wins, three by knockout.
