Kubrat Pulev is a Bulgarian megastar coming to win, but Anthony Joshua will knock him out in six – Tony Bellew’s prediction for world title fight

Tony Bellew is expecting Kubrat Pulev to provide Anthony Joshua with a tougher challenge than many expect, but is predicting AJ to knock him out between rounds four and six.

The former WBC cruiserweight champion is looking forward to watching his fellow Brit defend his WBA, IBF and WBO belts against his mandatory challenger on Saturday night in London, and is predicting a dramatic finish.

Joshua is back in action on Saturday as he faces heavyweight rival PulevMark Robinson/Matchroom

Previewing the fight for talkSPORT, Bellew said: “You always have to take into consideration these heavyweights.

“Believe you me, this fella has an amateur pedigree far better than Andy Ruiz.

“Kubrat Pulev was an outstanding amateur. I was in the European Championships with him in Bulgaria and he’s a superstar in Bulgaria.

“I’d say the only bigger name than him in the whole of Bulgaria is Dimitar Berbatov. He’s just a megastar.

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“He’s coming to win. He is a really good fighter – very, very powerful with the right hand.

“AJ’s just better than him in every department for me. I just think the speed will be too much and he will catch up with him pretty quickly.

“He’s just got to be vary careful of getting into exchanges in the first couple of rounds – that’s the only chance Pulev stands is them first couple of rounds.

“But, as I say, AJ’s quicker, he’s more powerful, he’s more explosive. I can only see an AJ knockout between four and six rounds.”

Bellew previously likened Joshua to Tyson in terms of speed and combination punching

Back in October, Bellew went as far as to make a big claim about Joshua when speaking to talkSPORT.