3 weeks ago
1 Anthony Joshua puts his world heavyweight titles on the line against Kubrat Pulev this weekend.
AJ reclaimed his belts by beating Andy Ruiz Jr in their rematch last December, producing a boxing masterclass in Saudi Arabia.
Anthony Joshua will face Kubrat Pulev this weekendGettyThe 31-year-old champ was set for a busy 2020 but the COVID-19 lockdown put his plans on hold.
He is now set to get back in the ring and will take on IBF mandatory challenger Pulev this weekend.
Pulev, who is 28-1 in his professional career, beat Rydell Booker in his last fight in November 2019.
The Bulgarian has seen off the likes of Hughie Fury and Derek Chisora in recent years and was supposed to face Joshua in 2017 but had to pull out due to injury.
Joshua v Pulev: How to watch
The Wembley Arena will host the heavyweight title bout on Saturday, December 12 The two fighters are expected to make their ring walks at 10.30pm The fight will be shown live on Sky Sports Box Office with their broadcast starting from 7pm It will cost £24.95, with the full undercard and main event shown. You can also live stream for the same price on your computer, mobile and tablet devices. Sky Sports Box Office is also available on BT TV – tune to channel 496 or by searching for the event in the BT Player
Anthony Joshua is ready to return to the ring this weekendInstagram @anthonyjoshuaJoshua v Pulev: Undercard
Promising British cruiserweight Lawrence Okolie will fight Nikodem Jezewski on the undercard as he looks to take his unbeaten professional record to 15 wins.
Okolie had been due to fight for the WBO cruiserweight title against Krzysztof Glowacki but he tested postive for COVID-19 and was forced to pull out.
Hughie Fury, cousin of world champion Tyson, will be in action against Mariusz Wach, who lost to Dillian Whyte last year.
Anthony Joshua v Kubrat Pulev – for WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles Lawrence Okolie v Krzysztof Glowacki – cruiserweight contest Hughie Fury v Mariusz Wach – heavyweight contest Martin Bakole v Sergey Kuzmin – for vacant WBC international heavyweight title Qais Ashfaq v Ashley Lane – super-bantamweight contest Florian Marku v Alex Fearon – welteweight contest Kieron Conway v Macaulay McGowan – super-welterweight contestJoshua v Pulev: What have the fighters said?
Veteran promoter Bob Arum has predicted that Kubrat Pulev will claim a knockout win over Anthony Joshua.
He said: “It’s one thing to box and run around the ring, making out you’re second coming of Muhammad Ali when you’re fighting a fat, obese Andy Ruiz.
“But it’s going to be a different story when you’re fighting a fit and ready Pulev, who’s in great shape and a good boxer.
“Pulev has the ability to corner Joshua and to take him out, so I believe not only is Pulev going to win the fight but he’s going to win it by knockout.
“We promoted Ruiz 30 times and most of the time he had trouble impacting opponents with his power, so the fact he devastated Joshua so badly indicates to me Joshua has a big weakness and that is his inability to take a punch.
“I’m not a fool, I’m talking about what I’ve seen. I saw Anthony Joshua got knocked on his ass and thoroughly beaten not so long ago.”
English (United States)