In one of the most pulsating heavyweight clashes in modern boxing memory, Anthony Joshua rose from near-defeat to dismantle Wladimir Klitschko in the 11th round, adding the WBA (Super) and IBO belts to his IBF crown in front of a roaring 90,000 at Wembley Stadium. It was a war befitting the record-setting crowd — a night where power met perseverance and history was forged under the London lights.

From the opening bell, it was clear the stakes were monumental. Klitschko, the veteran tactician, danced behind his jab, drawing Joshua into a mental chess match. But this was not the tentative Joshua seen against Molina. This was a lion being tested in the arena.

The fifth round erupted with drama. After several measured rounds, Joshua launched a blistering assault that dropped the Ukrainian great — the kind of moment that crowns champions. Yet the legend wasn’t done. Klitschko not only survived but roared back in the sixth, sending Joshua sprawling to the mat with a thunderous right, silencing the stadium for a heartbeat.

It was the first time in Joshua’s professional career he had tasted the canvas. Lesser men might have folded. But this wasn’t just any contender — this was a man being carved into a champion. Shaken but not broken, Joshua weathered the storm, navigating the deep waters of rounds seven through ten as Klitschko pressed with experience and precision.

Then came the eleventh — a round that will live forever in heavyweight folklore. With his corner sensing the urgency, Joshua uncorked a devastating uppercut that stunned Klitschko, launching a barrage that sent the former champion crashing to the floor not once, but twice. Referee David Fields had seen enough. The arena erupted.

At the time of the stoppage, the judges were split, but Joshua rendered their pens irrelevant.

This wasn’t just a fight. It was a passing of the torch. Klitschko, once the division’s ruler, had fought valiantly, proving he still belonged among the elite. But Joshua, in rising from the brink, showed he had the fire to lead boxing’s glamour division into a new era.