What is Anthony Joshua's best fight?

The Anthony Joshua hype train has firmly come to a shuddering halt after two defeats in his last four bouts.

The last of which against Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk put paid to the hopes of an all-British monster clash against Tyson Fury, at least in the immediate future.

AJ has brawled his way to celebrity status since claiming Olympic gold at London 2012 but which of his fights have been the best since he joined the professional ranks?

Joseph Parker

Joshua’s clash against the very capable Kiwi Joseph Parker was the very first time the powerhouse Brit had been taken the distance in the paid ranks.

Used to belligerently blasting far inferior fighters out of the ring, Joshua was forced to display some more boxing nous.

Parker’s movement made him elusive as Joshua failed to land the heavy-hitting blows that had helped him gain worldwide notoriety.

The judges scored it very widely in favour of the Brit, but the reality was that it was probably far closer than the 118-110, 118-110 and 119-109 scores suggest.

The 2018 bout may not be the most eye-catching Joshua encounter, but it had plenty for the purist with the Watford man finally given something to think about by the New Zealander’s tactics.

In the end, Joshua had more than enough behind his jab to gain the win in a fight that never threatened to explode but always kept you intrigued from first to last bell.

Dillian Whyte

In the smack-talk industry, there is no better fight than one with a bit of genuine bad blood.

And that was exactly the case when Joshua took on compatriot Dillian Whyte in 2015.

The Body Snatcher had previously handed Joshua a chastening defeat in the amateur ranks in 2009, sending his foe to the canvas before being awarded a decision.

And that history made for fireworks this time around.

The fight got off to a flyer with both letting the shots go from the off, much to the pleasure of all those packed into the O2 Arena.

Chaos ensued when AJ let one fly after the bell and delegates had to prise the fighters apart before referee Howard Foster served them both a warning at the start of the second.

Showboating and goading were seen throughout and Whyte even rocked Joshua with a big left hand.

However, AJ showed his champion qualities by coming through in the seventh round, a right uppercut connecting with Whyte’s chin and sending him to the canvas with the fight waved off.

Wladimir Klitschko

It is very hard to argue that Joshua’s titanic tussle with Ukrainian legend Wladimir Klitschko was not his best fight.

The 2017 war was billed as the litmus test for AJ’s exciting career progression.

Filling out Wembley Stadium, the first four rounds were fairly even and cagey affairs before the entertainment came at the back end of the bout.

Joshua knocked Klitschko to the canvas in the fifth but he rose and came back into things, sending AJ down in the very next round.

Eventually, things came to a head in the 11th, Joshua securing two knockdowns before the referee waved off the fight with the courageous former champion taking punishment on the ropes.

The result and jaw-dropping action thrilled 90,000 spectators and forged a bond between the two participants which makes it a worthy winner of AJ’s best scrap.

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