Depending on the corner you reside in, Anthony Joshua was either tactically astute, displaying fine adroitness behind a stiff jab or was skillfully limited with his offensive output neutralised by an awkward Joseph Parker.
In reality, assessments lie somewhere in the middle but as is often the way with modern society, it had to be one or the other.
Truth is, Joshua showed defects for improvement but also a refinement in some of the fundamentals which have looked a little substandard in recent bouts.
His footwork was much slicker and of course his cardio – despite a little dip in the middle rounds – was mostly excellent as he came on strong in the final frames of his first full quota rounds.
It was a performance hallmarked by maturity, a new side to the Joshua who swept up his WBA and IBF titles with KOs – the boxer not slugger.
Indeed, if you take out the spectacle (for a pugilist who insists he’s not about “the hype” the grandiose entrance said differently) and focus purely on the boxing performance, there was much to be delighted with from a Joshua perspective.
The same cannot be said of the referee, of course, and we can all agree Giuseppe Quartarone was incompetent at best and a liability at worst.
Neither Joshua or Parker could hope to build any sort of momentum with the Italian constantly cutting in whenever the fight pulled onto the inside.
Quartarone was a wet blanket, smothering the swelling flames as if it were an amateur bout.
And he can’t be accused of bias either because he choked out the offence of both fighters – when Parker landed in close, he split it up immediately and the case was the same for Joshua as he attempted to uncork his signature uppercut.
It seemed the occasion was too big for unheralded referee but that can’t be said of Parker.
Granite chinned with a good gameplan to elude a lot of the power punches, the relinquished WBO champ showed tremendous heart and the unanimous decision was much closer than one judge’s dubious 119-109 scorecard.
Granted, the challenger didn’t do enough for victory, fighting permanently on the backfoot with the 26-year-old seemingly holding hope Joshua would gas out but he was quick and awkward.
As the last undisputed heavyweight Lennox Lewis correctly observed, though, “A good big ‘un will always beat a good little ‘un”.
I thought AJ fought a great fight. I kno fans want blood but sometimes it just not there. AJ kept proper distance 2keep JP at end of jap but out or range of JP’s jab. JP’s hands were faster than i thought but his game plan was too one dimensional. Good big un beats a good lil un!
— Lennox Lewis (@LennoxLewis) March 31, 2018
Joshua’s imposing size and reach advantage was ultimately the difference between the two men and while he was far from polished, he was certainly professional.
Ending his stoppage streak at 20 is actually a good thing for his development, too. The unnecessary pressure to knock someone out has been alleviated and it gives AJ the breathing room to learn the more disciplined side of the ‘Sweet Science’.
In the build-up, Joshua talked of lessons learned from the Wladimir Klitschko fight.
“I have learned I shouldn’t use camp to get fit. I have used this training camp to work solely on my technique and ability rather than to get fit,” he explained.
He took something from the Ukranian for this fight, adding another tactic to win defensively behind the jab in true Klitschko style.
Joshua can bang and win, and he can defend and win as well. With a third premier belt around his waist, he has tightened his grip on the heavyweight division, only the WBC strap of Deontay Wilder remains to cement undisputed status.
Introducing you 2 the sweet science of boxing 🔥 Hit & don't get hit 🔥 pic.twitter.com/BbhqSwoxef
— Anthony Joshua (@anthonyfjoshua) April 1, 2018
But despite Joshua’s improvement, there are still holes in his game to exploit, like retreating with a loose guard, and the ‘Bronze Bomber’ will hardly be approaching any potential bout with trepidation as Carl Froch in his role as analyst for Sky Sports assessed.
“I don’t think he will be concerned about that performance, he won’t be worried,” the former super-middleweight king said post fight.
“When AJ says ‘I will knock you spark out’, I don’t think Wilder believes him, because what you saw there does not send that message – he did what he had to do to win.”
Ultimately, there wasn’t a mark on Joshua’s face and the aim of the game is to hit and not get hit.
The 28-year-old was good and bad, not good or bad. There is more to come from the unified heavyweight champ.
