I'm looking back at the night when Anthony Joshua pulled in huge crowds in South Tyneside
World champion gave a knockout performance 10 years ago
Tell us if you were there on the night when the new world heavyweight boxing champion was declared a knockout in South Shields.
It happened 10 years ago this week when Anthony Joshua was the star of a talk-in event at Hedworth Hall less than a week after he lifted the IBF title by defeating American Charles Martin in less than two rounds.
A Shields Gazette report at the time said: “The 26-year-old was again the star of the show when he appeared before 200 fans.”
His win was just one of the topics boxing fans were keen to find out more about as they packed out the venue in Dean Road, South Shields.
The Watford-born boxer followed all-time boxing greats Sugar Ray and Larry Holmes, who appeared at the Hedworth Hall in recent years.
Speaking to the Gazette at the event, Joshua said: “I had been working hard and it was expected that I would win and we achieved that. I’d worked hard and I wasn’t expecting to lose.
“If you can outclass the champ by working hard, that’s what it’s all about.”
The Gazette report added: “Joshua feels he is just at the beginning of what he hopes to be a long career in the ring and hails Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno as his role models.”
He said those looking to carve their own careers out in the ring need to train hard and stay focused.
He said: “Look at boxing, look at your life and figure out what it is you want. If you want it then work hard and stay focused.”
“As well as now holding the IBF world heavyweight belt, the man who won the Olympic gold medal in London is also the current Commonwealth, British and WBC international heavyweight champion.”
Manager of the Hedworth Hall Carl Mowatt said said at the time: “To be able to attract such high-calibre sporting stars like Anthony Joshua to the Hedworth Hall is amazing.”
We want to hear from you if you were at the talk-in back in 2016. Get in touch with the Shields Gazette by emailing the Digital Nostalgia Reporter Chris Cordner at [email protected]