Anthony Joshua v Dominic Breazeale LIVE: All the action from the O2 Arena in the IBF world heavyweight champion’s first title defence in London

Refresh your browser for updates…

So it was another great night of boxing action from the O2 Arena. Joshua is still the IBF world heavyweight champion.

Until next time, goodnight.

 

Joseph Parker has had his say…

23:54: Joshua goes over to talk to his opponent. He showed great heart to last seven rounds with the big champion.

23:52: After getting back up, Joshua goes on the attack and just wares Breazeale down and puts him back on the canvas. Another win and his first defence done in style.

JOSHUA WINS VIA KO!

23:51: Joshua needs to vary his punches, mix it up a bit. And he hits Breazeale with a three punch combo, and gets him on the ropes and he goes down.

23:47: AJ looks comfortable. None of Breazeales’ shots are bothering him. AJ’s nose is bloodied. Breazeale looks on the front foot at the end of this round.

23:45: Breazeale misses with a massive left hook. AJ needs to get into him when he misses. Round five ends. Joshua is winning on points but he must be looking for his 17th KO.

23:43: A nice raid from the pacey Joshua. But Breazeale is firing back.

23:41: Breazeale has to be applauded for taking AJ’s punches. Big hooks and uppercuts are not bothering him. He needs to attack a bit more to make a fight of it. Round five begins.

23:39: This is only the second time AJ has been in the fourth round. And a massive left hand as Breazeale comes forward is absorbed by the yank.

23:37: AJ looks impressive as the third round ends. It’s been a rough first three for Breazeale.

23:36: The speed of Joshua’s jab is immense. And he has Breazeale pinned against the ropes and hit him with brutal body shots.

23:34: A left hook earlier in third hurts Breazeale. Both his eyes are closing up.

23:33: Breazeale is stumbling. A massive left and right and the American is struggling. He survives the round but this could be another third-round KO for AJ.

23:32: Little explosions from Joshua look savage. But if Breazeale hits him square on it could be interesting.

23:31: Joshua shakes Breazeale with a mega right hand.

23:30: End of the first round. Breazeale looks slow. Joshua’s punches look harder than ever. Round two begins…

23:29: Breazeale looks like he can take a punch but Joshua is ripping through his defence. Solid right and left hands.

23:28: It’s very open and Breazeale looks easy to hit as Joshua connects with a couple of blows.

23:26: Joshua is measures up Brezeale. Joshua’s speed will worry Breazeale. And he hits him with a solid left hand but Brezeale takes it well.

23:26: And here we go…

23:21: 33 fights between them and 21 knock-outs. This could be very tasty.

23:19: Now there’s roars of a lion ringing out. Joshua calls this the lions den. And he comes out to the loudest reception of the night.

23:18: A slightly cringe worthy video plays out. But anything to build the excitement, I guess.

23:16: Joshua is in white in honour of Muhammad Ali. And he gets ready to make the walk to the ring.

23:14: He comes out and looks very confident. The boos are not affecting him.

23:13: Michael Buffer announces the fight. Undefeated challenger v undefeated champion. Breazeale makes his way to the ring first.

23:07: Sweet Caroline is belting out in the o2 Arena.

23:06: Joshua is shown on the big screen. The crowd go wild. Breazeale looks calm in his changing room.

23:03: The crowd now go wild in anticipation of the main event. Joshua looking for his 17th win in a row. Breazeale has talked a good game though.

23:02: A touching tribute to Mohammed Ali. A memorial ten bells.

22:51: Unanimous decision. George Groves keeps his super-middleweight title.

22:49: This has to be Groves’ fight. Murray left it too late.

22:49: ROUND 12 OVER.

22:48: Both men are shattered. Groves hits Murray and wobbles him but loses his balance as he’s there for the taking.

22:46: Murray is going for it but Groves lands a couple good right hands.

22:46: It’s now or never for Martin Murray. Three minutes to knock out Groves.

22:42: Groves hits a clean left hook but Murray is still standing and coming at him.

22:39: Round 11 is going to be mega. Murray needs a KO but everytime he comes at Groves he has a thumping punch to reply. Here we go…

22:39: Murray goes for broke. Somehow finds the energy to hit Groves with a good couple of body shots then a big right hand that has Groves uncomfortable. He has him on the ropes. But Groves hits back with a huge right hand.

22:37: Round ten and Murray will need a stoppage but Groves just looks too good with another couple left hand jabs.

22:36: A clever Groves combo rocks Murray and he staggers to his corner at the end of the ninth.

22:34: Groves knows he’s got this. Nine rounds in and very much in control. He ducks a couple wild right hands from Murray.

22:32: Murray is going to have to pull something special out in the next round. Groves is dominating.

22:31: Groves looks impressive. He has Murray well and truly shaken. His left hand punches are very effective.

22:30: Murray is being dominated. A big couple of right hands from Groves broke his defence and he goes on the attack.

22:28: It was a massive uppercut from Groves. Now for round eight.

22:28: Groves has Murray shaking with some big blows but the Merseyside fighter is saved by the bell.

22:26: Murray is asking some questions but Groves is standing up and taking the hits well.

22:25: Round seven begins.

22:24: End of the round. Murray must come out and put Groves on his back foot. 

22:22: Now Groves has Murray on the ropes. Murray has to do more if he wants to win this. And he does with a right and left hand combo.

22:20: Both go back to their corners for the end of the fifth round.

22:19: Groves lands a clever right hand but Murray’s guard is holding up well.

22:18: Murray needs to keep up the momentum here. Groves is timing some nice counters.

22:17: Round five begins…

22:16: Murray has dominated that round. Again he had Groves on the ropes and his opponent struggled to deal with the blows.

22:15: Groves is cut as Murray changes the tempo and has the Hammersmith fighter on the back foot.

22:14: Now Murray attacks. He gets Groves in the corner and hits him with some big body shots. Murray is on the up.

22:13: Murray needs to come out a bit more as the fourth round begins.

22:12: Groves is well known to struggle in later rounds. Murray is clearly trying to make this go the distance as that round ends.

22:11: Murray is trying to play it clever but now he’s starting to turn up the heat with a couple of combos.

22:10: Bruno gets another big cheer from the crowd as Murray struggles to get close to Groves.

22:09: Round three of 12 begins. Groves hits a couple of jabs.

22:08: End of round two. Groves edged that one and looks more comfortable around the ring.

22:07: Groves looks relaxed. Murray is blocking but he is not hitting Groves with anything.

22:05: Second round begins as Groves edges forward in the attack again.

22:04: First round ends and it’s pretty even at the start.

22:02: Groves is on the attack and Murray looks like he’s trying to draw St. George in.

22:01: First round starts…

21:54: This has the makings of a brilliant fight. Groves now makes his way to the ring.

21:51: Both Groves and Murray have a lot to lose in this super-middleweight eliminator. Murray makes his way to the ring.

21:50: Frank Bruno is at ringside and gets a massive cheer from the crowd.

21:42 Gavin Glicksman’s thoughts on that fight…

“Clinical and brutal. Showed no sign of the Nick Blackwell fight weighing on his mind – as spiteful as ever.”

But up for us next is the chief support with George Groves v Martin Murray.

Gennady Golovkin is who Eubank Jr wants next…

21:32: Cold, hard and brutal from Eubank Jr as the referee stops the fight.

21:32: Eubank Jr is showboating now. He knows he has Doran beat. He’s down again.

21:31: Doran is down again. The body shots are really hurting him. He’s down again.

21:30: Round four begins. Doran won’t be able to handle many more assaults like the last round.

21:28: It’s calmed down as the fight ends but Eubank Jr totally dominated that round. The upper cut and body shots have Doran rattled.

21:27: Eubank Jr is after Doran now. The crowd want the end and it looks like it could come soon.

21:26: Doran’s throwing some shots but they’re not landing clean. His counters are good but Eubank Jr hits back with a brutal combo.

21:25: Round three begins…

21:24: End of the round, Eubank looks calm but Doran has some big punches of his own.

21:23: Eubank Jr is trying to hit the upper cuts like he did in the first round but Doran looks like he’s got wise to them now.

21:22: Doran is growing in confidence. He just hit Eubank Jr with a left hand jab.

21:21: Round two begins

21:20: Doran is not fazed by Eubank Jr. But the champ won that round with a lot of clean shots.

21:18: Doran is on the attack. But Eubank Jr hits Doran with two perfect bunches.

21:17: First round begins. Slow start by both fighters.

Our man on the ground Gavin Glicksman says:

Eubank is ahead in the tale of the tape. It’s a huge step up for Dorean.

It’s Eubank Jr’s first defence since the horrible night that Nick Blackwell ended up in a coma.

Eubank Jr is putting his British middleweight title on the line. The Arena is starting to get packed out now.

David Haye, who wants to fight Anthony Joshua in front of 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, is making his way to ringside.

21:00: FELIX CASH WINS!

Job done. A decent fight before we get into Chris Eubank Jr v Tom Doran…

20:55: Fourth and final round. Neves has done really well to recover from his first round knock down. He hits cash with a cheeky upper cut.

20:51: Round three of four begins.

20:50: Cash needs to stop going for the finisher. He needs to be patient. Neves is coming back into the fight with a couple good shots of his own.

20:47: Second round of four begins…

20:46: Neves survives the first round, and he did start to regroup well.

20:45: Cash looks good here. Neves looks like he is in over his head.

20:44: Felix Cash, former GB middleweight, will now make his pro debut against Yailton Neves from Manchester. Cash drops him as soon as he fires off his first right.

Three fights, three wins and a big future for the 19-year-old Destroyer.

Benn said: “I’ve shown I can fight. By the end of the year lets see what machine I can turn out to be.”

A job fantastically done by Benn there, controlled the fight all the way through.

Glicksman says: “Conor Benn promised he’d look to display his boxing skills instead of getting involved in a tear-up and he delivered in style with two knockdowns.

To the relief of the crowd Radic gets up. Benn has done it again in one round.

Benn hits him with some brutal punches and Radic goes down. He is still down and Benn is not celebrating just yet.

BENN WINS!

20:31 Benn is putting some thought into this performance. He’s hit Radic with a couple good combos. But the Czech is defiantly hitting back with his own punches.

20:30: And the bell rings…

Lukas Radic is his opponent. He has nine fights behind him. But I can’t see this lasting that long.

Benn makes his way to the ring. He looks just as confident as the last time he was at the Arena. He won that one in one round…

Conor Benn faces Lukas Radic next in his third professional fight.

Dominic Breazeale has arrived at the O2 Arena. Can he be the man to inflict Joshua’s first defeat?

Whyte said: “It was alright but the guy didn’t come to fight. I got six rounds and my fitness felt good. My left hood wasn’t going off as much but I stayed with him and hit him with combinations.”

A massive right hand put Bacurin down to his knees and he has nothing left to give as the referee counts to ten.

Glicksman says: “Whyte is seriously unimpressed as his opponent fails to beat the count. Job done for the Body Snatcher, though.”

DILLIAN WHYTE WINS!

20:12: Bacurin is handling the punches but you feel it is only a matter of time before Whyte hits him with a big right hand. He keeps holding showing that he is knackered.

20:11: Round six begins and Whyte can smell blood, he has shook up the Croat.

20:09: The Croat is at a three stone disadvantage and he looks worn out. He falls down but it wont be counted as a knockdown. Whyte must set the tempo now.

20:07: Round five of eight and here is what our man at ringside has to say…

“It’s turning into a frustrating night for Whyte. He didn’t expect this… and neither did I”

20:04: Whyte has to stay smart and concentrate. He can’t afford to lose his rhythm. Bacurin has hit a couple of shots.

20:04: Whyte looks like he is getting frustrated. He hits Bacurin with a low blow and he sinks to the canvas.

20:02: And that’s the end of the third…

Glicksman says: “Fair play to Bacurin, he’s proving elusive and earning his money. Surely it’s only a matter of time before Whyte lands that right hand…

“Team Eubank are here and Chris Sr is talking up his son’s chances against Gennady Golovkin. Chris Jr must first overcome Tom Doran before he can turn his attentions to a blockbuster with the middleweight king.”

20:01: Bacurin gets a telling off from the ref for holding. He is making a nuisance of himself.

https://twitter.com/DanBoyCafc/status/746779134924292098

19:57: The bell rings at the end of the second. Whyte looks like he is biding his time before he come forward on the attack. Bacurin has played it very well so far. George Groves and Martin Murray have just arrived in the arena…

19:56: Second round has begun but Bacurin his managing to stay out of the way of Whyte’s big punches.

Joshua has tweeted from the arena…

19:53: And the bell rings for the end of a pretty uneventful first. Whyte looks like he is just warming up and not rushing in with his brute force.

Bacurin has shown in previous fights he has a lot of heart and can pick himself up from a knockdown. Whyte is going to have to be clever in this bout.

Both fighters are just measuring each other up in this first of eight rounds.

19:51: And the first round starts…

Glicksman says: “Expect Joshua’s arch-rival Dillian Whyte to make quick work of Ivica Bacurin on his return from injury. Whyte, who underwent shoulder surgery after losing to AJ in December, has a serious weight advantage over his Czech opponent.”

Next up is Dillion Whyte v Ivica Bacurin as Anthony Joshua is shown arriving into the arena.

Twitter reaction: Here’s what the fans are saying after Hibbert’s defeat…

Anthony Joshua v Dominic Breazeale: Our man on the ground looks ahead to the main event…

Glicksman says: “Looking ahead to the main event later on, it would be hard to bet against a quick knockout for the champ. Dominic Breazeale has talked a good game, but so did Charles Martin…”

John Wayne Hibbert was beaten by Andrea Scarpa and was badly cut around his eye

A good start to the action from the O2 Arena. SunSport’s boxing correspondent Gavin Glicksman is on the ground and here is his views:

“Brave effort from Hibbert but the cut was too severe for the bout to continue. Scarpa is now the proud owner of WBC Silver title.”

The Italian gets his seventh win in a row and a well deserved victory on British soil.

The doctor lkooked at Hibbert’s cut and puts an end to the fight.

19:36: SCARPA WINS!

19:33: Both men look tired, but they are both still throwing strong punches. Scarpa is just timing his attacks perfectly.

19:32: The right hand for the knock-down was brutal. Scarpa must go for it in this round.

19:31: You have to hand it to Hibbert, he got back up and he is still trying to get back into this fight.

19:29: HIBBERT’S DOWN! Scarpa hits him with a right and drops Hibbert. He is in serious trouble now.

19:28: Hibbert’s cut is deep and he is struggling to get any rhythm going in this fifth round.

19:28: The bell sounds but Hibbert is struggling. The longer the fight goes on the worse it looks for him.

19:26: Hibbert is trying to force body shots but his vision must be blurred as the blood is pouring down his face. Scarpa hits the Essex-born fighter with another sweet shot.

19:25:  We’re in round four and both fighters have come out swinging

19:00 THE arena is gradually filling up as the Sky Sports Box Office portion of tonight’s boxing kicks off with John Wayne Hibbert facing Andrea Scarpa for the vacant WBC Silver super-lightweight title.

 

WELCOME to SunSport’s live blog of Anthony Joshua’s first title defence.

The IBF world heavyweight champion takes on Dominic Breazeale at a packed-out O2 Arena.

And there is an amazing undercard to get through before the main event.

Here in the running order…

John Wayne Hibbert v Andrea Scarpa

Dillian Whyte v Ivica Bacurin

Conor Benn v Lukas Radic

Chris Eubank Jr v Tom Doran

George Groves v Martin Murray