# Anthony Joshua vs Gary Cornish

Anthony Joshua vs. Gary Cornish, billed as Heavy Duty, was a professional boxing match contested on 12 September 2015, for the Commonwealth and WBC International heavyweight championship. The bout took place at The O2 Arena in London.
Joshua defeated Cornish, adding the Commonwealth title to his WBC International title via first-round technical knockout (TKO).

## Background

Both fighters last fought in May 2015; Cornish scoring a fourth-round TKO win over Zoltan Csala to capture the IBO Inter-Continental title and Joshua scoring a second-round TKO over former world title challenger Kevin Johnson–the first stoppage loss of Johnson's career–to retain his WBC International title.
After Lucas Browne relinquished the Commonwealth title in order to face WBA (Regular) champion Ruslan Chagaev, the Commonwealth Boxing Council ordered Joshua vs. Cornish for the vacant title, with the fight scheduled to take place on 12 September at The O2 Arena in London, live on Sky Sports.
Joshua was ranked 2nd by the WBC, 3rd by the WBO, 12th by the IBF and 13th by the WBA.

## The fights
### Undercard

The preliminary bouts saw wins for, among others, prospects Ohara Davies, Ted Cheeseman and Reece Bellotti. The first featured bout saw Charlie Edwards outpoint English flyweight champion Louis Norman.

### Whyte vs. Minto

This was followed by unbeaten heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte facing American veteran Brian Minto, with the WBC International Silver title on the line.

#### The fight

Whyte knocked down Minto in the 1st round before knocking him out in the 3rd.
| Preceded byvs. Irineu Beato Costa Junior | Dillian Whyte's bouts 12 September 2015 | Succeeded byvs. Anthony Joshua |
| Preceded byvs. Israel Adesanya | Brian Minto's bouts 12 September 2015 | Succeeded byvs. Edmund Gerber |

### Ryan vs. Hibbert III

The chief support saw Commonwealth and WBC International Light welterweight champion Dave Ryan have a trilogy bout with John Wayne Hibbert. Ryan had twice before bested Hibbert winning a points decision in March 2013 and stopping him in the 9th round in May 2015.

#### The fight

Ryan was in control from the opening bell, knocking down Hibbert in the 6th round. Hibbert began to exert pressure from rounds 7 through 9. In the 10th, after a right hook from Hibbert, Ryan pulled backwards with his hand on his back, visibly in pain. After a momentary pause, Hibbert attacked with a three punch combination to the champion's body, forcing Ryan to go down to the canvas on one knee, informing the referee his "back had gone". He managed to rise to his feet, only to be met by a flurry of punches from Hibbert to prompt referee Ian John Lewis to step in and call a halt to the contest, handing Hibbert a 9th round TKO victory.

### Main Event

With both men showing intent to fight from the opening bell, Joshua landed a solid right hand a little under a minute into the fight, dropping the Scottish challenger to the canvas. Cornish made it to his feet before the referee's count of ten, only to be met by a sustained attack from Joshua. On the receiving end of another right hand, Cornish was down for a second time halfway through the round. He again made it to his feet just before the count of ten on unsteady legs, prompting referee Victor Loughlin to wave off the fight, giving Joshua his first major regional title via first-round TKO.

## Aftermath

Immediately after the fight, promoter Eddie Hearn revealed a deal was in place for Joshua to take on undefeated rival Dillian Whyte.

## Fight card

Confirmed bouts:
^Note 1 For WBC International, and vacant Commonwealth heavyweight titles ^Note 2 For Commonwealth and WBC International super-lightweight titles ^Note 3 For vacant WBC International Silver heavyweight title ^Note 4 For English flyweight title ^Note 5 For vacant WBA Continental super-lightweight title

## Broadcasting

| Country | Broadcaster |
| United Kingdom | Sky Sports |