Promoter Eddie Hearn has described Anthony Joshua as "a superstar" after his knockout-defeat of Dillian Whyte at The O2 Arena last night.
The 26-year-old Olympic champion extended his perfect knockout record as a professional to 15-0 but was taken past the third round for the first time by his challenger, who eventually succumbed to a fierce uppercut in the seventh.
"It was like the nervous energy of David Price all over again," Hearn told iFL TV's Kugan Cassius afterwards. "[Joshua] put so much into the first round. He was so pumped back here and he used too much energy in the ring. There was a huge amount of pressure and it showed.
"After three rounds I was thinking 'hold on, please find your way back into this fight and get your second wind', and he did. From the fourth or fifth round he started boxing well and winning the rounds, and as for the knockout, to find that kind of knockout and power when people are starting to say 'where's this fight going?' It's a special fight. He needed that.
"I wasn't sure he'd get that kind of fight tonight, I have to be honest, and it was nearly all over in the first round. But that fight will put him in such great stead. And what about the reaction at the end? This guy's a superstar."
In defeating Whyte, Joshua earned the vacant British heavyweight title, while Whyte was forced to taste his first defeat in 17 bouts.
Neil Wilkes
