Joshua to put rival Fury in the shade with third straight KO

Olympic Gold medalist Anthony Joshua (2-0-0) can put domestic heavyweight rival Hughie Fury in the shade by knocking out Hrvoje Kisicek (5-6-0) when the pair clash at London’s York Hall.

Kisicek took Fury the distance when the pair met in October but Joshua, in his third outing as a professional, can go one better by sealing his third consecutive knockout victory.

After a first round stoppage over the then unbeaten Italian Emanuele Leo and second round KO of the experienced journeyman Paul Butlin, Joshua can continue his blistering start in the pro ranks and odds of 1/3 on the Watford-born heavyweight winning inside the first three rounds looks to be a solid bet.

But with the London 2012 star taking on Kisicek only a month after Fury, it’s inevitable comparisons between ‘The People’s Champion’ and ‘The Fist of Fury’ will be made.

These two up-and-coming British heavyweights are on a collision course to meet at some point in the future but, for now, their Croatian opponent will be the barometer of their standing in the fighting ranks.

With only six knockouts on his 12-fight unbeaten record, Fury, who is 20/1 with Ladbrokes to break Mike Tyson’s record and become the youngest world heavyweight champion, does not pose the punching threat of his British rival.

While the 19-year-old impressively boxed his way to a six-round decision over the Croatian, Joshua can use his raw strength and power to stop his opponent inside the distance.

But don’t expect the Olympic champion to come out all guns blazing in Bethnal Green.

As with his second pro fight, rounds in the bank and patience are the order of the day for Joshua, and with Fury’s result against the same opponent in mind, the 6/1 on the Brit winning the fight in round three could provide the value on what should be an entertaining night of boxing.

So assuming he wins, it should be round one to Joshua in his battle with Fury to become British boxing’s future heavyweight hope, but we’ll have to wait and see whether he lasts the distance.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.