SAN FRANCISCO, December 12, (THEWILL) –Â Â World heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on Saturday night took on mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev, the Bulgarian with his trio of boxing titles: World Boxing Organisation (WBO), World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) on the line. And inside nine rounds at the SSE Arena, Joshua retained all three of his belts by thwarting Pulev’s game.
With the 1,000 fans allowed inside the venue cheering, and ex-professional boxer Floyd Mayweather watching at ringside, Joshua knocked down Pulev twice in the third round and twice more in the ninth to keep the much-anticipated all-British unification battle with Tyson Fury well on track for 2021.
Joshua’s 25th as a professional pugilist, took off slowly as both fighters used the opening round to square off one another checking for control of distance and gameplan.
When Joshua let his hands go for the first time with a four-punch salvo in the second round, Pulev smiled sarcastically back at him.
However, it all exploded in a dramatic third round when Joshua planted his feet and let his right hand go, landing it in the form of a cross, which hurt and later dropped Pulev. He repeated the move as an uppercut, which had the same impact. With unsteady legs, but spitting defiance, Pulev seemed on the brink of being stopped.
Yet, somehow Pulev (28-2) showed resilience. He recovered well enough in the fourth to win the round, gambling now with right crosses of his own.
Joshua (24-1) regained his composure and, in the fifth, cracked home a big right hand which didn’t budge Pulev, who ended the round strongly after some feisty back-and-forth trash talk.
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A spiteful fight became gritty and rugged in the sixth when Pulev began winging wild swings that didn’t hit their target, but did force ugly exchanges. Three consecutive uppercuts from Joshua hurt Pulev in the seventh but still the tough Bulgarian would not cede ground.
Pulev then landed his best punch, a straight right hand, in the eighth.
In the end, it was Joshua who had the edge in power. This was obvious in the ninth when he once again stood in range with Pulev. Powerful uppercuts combined to do the trick, a series of them dropping Pulev to his knees. Pulev persisted before a final right cross left Pulev flat on his back and gave referee Deon Dwarte of South Africa no option but to wave the fight over.
With Pulev duly beaten and out of the picture, the talk is of Joshua and Fury meeting next year in a heavyweight blockbuster, likely to take place in Saudi Arabia. The pair of British boxers own all four of the major heavyweight titles and have in the past 12 months clearly established themselves as the top two fighters in the division.
The winner of their fight will therefore become the undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
