On This Day in 2018: Anthony Joshua beats Alexander Povetkin to defend belts

Wembley glory for the British fighter saw him earn his 22nd consecutive victory.

Anthony Joshua, pictured, claimed his 22nd consecutive victory with a seventh-round victory over Alexander Povetkin (Nick Potts/PA) (PA Archive)

Anthony Joshua defended his WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles with a seventh-round stoppage of Alexander Povetkin at Wembley on this day in 2018.

The then 28-year-old retained his belts after twice knocking Povetkin down to the canvas.

The British fighter earned his 22nd consecutive victory and remained unbeaten in his career despite having his nose broken by the Russian in the first round.

Joshua fought back to win after knocking Povetkin down in the seventh round; the Russian beat the count of 10 before Joshua finished the job with a combination of punches to finish the bout.

After the fight, Joshua said: “Alexander Povetkin is a very tough challenger; he proved that. But I’ve come in here to have fun, do what I’ve been working on in the gym and give it my best.

“I realised he was strong to the head, but I know that he was weak to the body, so instead of jabbing to the head, I was switching it up.

“He threw a good right, but let’s not worry about that, that’s out of the way.”

Nine months after his victory over Povetkin, Joshua suffered his first shock defeat after being knocked down by Andy Ruiz Jr in the seventh round before winning a rematch three months later.