This isn’t the match that WBA and IBF World Champion Anthony Joshua had been planning, but he takes on Carlos Takam on Saturday night in Cardiff. Takam was a late replacement for the injured Kubrat Pulev, who withdrew less than two weeks before the scheduled fight. So the plans have changed slightly for Joshua but he seems to be determined to treat this with respect.
Joshua weighed in at 18th 2 lbs on Friday, his heaviest weight for a fight ever and there is importance on this bout for the champion because it is a stepping stone to much bigger things next year when he could have WBO champion Joseph Parker and WBC champion Deontay Wilder on his radar. It’s also a big payday still for Joshua who will pocket around £10 million for the fight. So far in his professional career, he has won all 19 of his bouts, each of them by a knockout. Joshua is an overwhelming favourite at 1/66 with bet365 to win this bout with the challenger out at 12/1.
The fight against Pulev was expected to have been easy for Joshua and this one, even easier still. Takam had been on standby for the fight, so he was in training and won’t be coming in totally cold. He’s not a serious challenger who is going to really have Joshua troubled, but he did have a bout against Joseph Parker back in 2016 and lasted the distance, losing on points. So that would be a good precursor to any potential future showdown been Joshua and Parker.
Cameroon-born Takam has a W35 D1 L3 record from his 39 professional fights and this is going to be the biggest night of his career. Takam has demonstrated a general penchant for fighting on the inside close up to wear down the opposition, but Joshua is going to have a major height and reach advantage over his opponent so should be able to keep him at a fair distance.
With there being no value in the match outright you have to look elsewhere for some value. Takam has shown, both against Parker and in a great fight against Alexander Povetkin in 2014 that he make a real nuisance of himself and over 5.5 rounds at a price of 6/4 with bet365 looks some value. That should be around the point that Joshua can start making his extra class and quality count.
