Joshua stops Martin in two rounds to clinch IBF heavyweight crown

In the opening round, Martin started proceedings very cagey and showed reluctance to get involved with big trades early on, while Joshua tested the waters with his long reaching jab, with two strong right hands seeing him begin solidly.

The defending champion was wobbled slightly in the opening stages of the second round by a stiff left from Joshua and soon was sent crashing to the canvas twice in quick succession, with the second being from a thumping straight right.

Despite eventually getting to his feet, Martin was unable to recover before the count from the swift strike on the chin, as the referee called a halt to the fight which saw Joshua crowned as Britain’s ninth ever heavyweight champion in front of an electrifying capital crowd.

McDonnell and Selby retain titles on undercard

On the undercard, Ohara Davies got the night off to a flying start with a fourth-round stoppage victory over a bloodied Andy Keates to win the vacant English lightweight title, before calling out British champion Scott Cardle.

In an entertaining middleweight meeting between Brian Rose and Matthew Macklin, it was the latter who edged a close battle after 12 gruelling rounds, with the judges scoring it 113-113, 115-111, 115-111 in his favour for a majority decision win.

WBA bantamweight champion Jamie McDonnell then outclassed a spirited Fernando Vargas to successfully defend his crown, as the Coral sponsored fighter earned a ninth-round knockout success in London.

Following that, Welshman Lee Selby picked himself off the canvas for the first time in his career during the second round to eventually outpoint dangerous switch hitter Eric Hunter, as the IBF featherweight title-holder retained his strap with an impressive unanimous decision triumph.

Conor Benn, son of former world champion ‘the Dark Destroyer’ Nigel, made an emphatic professional debut as he smashed Ivailo Boyanov within one round, showcasing his talents at the O2 Arena at just 19 years of age.

Meanwhile, George Groves also made light work of his Scottish challenger David Brophy, clinching a fourth-round stoppage victory thanks to a vicious body shot, before Joshua and Martin took to the ring for their heavyweight showdown.

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