Anthony Joshua vs Kubrat Pulev
Date | 12 December 2020[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Venue | Wembley Arena, Brent, London, UK | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Title(s) on the line | WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tale of the tape | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Joshua defeated Pulev via ninth-round knockout |
Anthony Joshua vs Kubrat Pulev, was a
Background
2017 Cancelled world title fight
On 28 August 2017, it was announced that Joshua and Pulev would fight at the
2020
On 2 March 2020, both Matchroom's Eddie Hearn and Top Rank's Bob Arum officially announced Joshua and Pulev would fight at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on 20 June.[8] On 3 April 2020, it was announced that the fight had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and that a new date for the fight "was being worked on".[9] Up to 1,000 people were allowed to attend the fight.[10]
Pulev's only prior defeat had come in a title shot against Wladimir Klitschko in November 2014, being the last man ever to be stopped by him.
The fight
Both fighters began cautiously in the first round, attempting to find each other's range.[11] However, Joshua came out aggressively in the third round and forced Pulev into taking a standing count as he had turned his back on the Briton. When the fight resumed Joshua looked for the knockout and knocked Pulev down with an uppercut late in the round. Pulev beat the count and was able to hold off the champion until the bell.[12] Despite the two knockdowns, Pulev recovered well enough to win the fourth round on some scorecards.[11] The fight continued until the ninth round, where Joshua knocked the Bulgarian down for a third time with a "barrage of uppercuts". Pulev was once again able to continue fighting, however he was immediately hit with a right hand that knocked him out, giving Joshua the victory via ninth-round knockout.[13]
Aftermath
Following the fight, attention immediately turned to a potential unification bout with WBC and The Ring title holder Tyson Fury. Fury quickly posted a video on social media claiming that he would knock out Joshua "inside three rounds". Joshua responded positively, stating "that's good to hear" and "at least I can get him in the ring".[14] Eddie Hearn, Joshua's promoter, also commented on a potential fight between the two, saying that he "can’t see any obstacles" to the fight and that he expected it to be agreed in a matter of days.[15]
Fight card
Weight Class | vs. | Method | Round | Time | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Heavyweight | Anthony Joshua (c) | def. | Kubrat Pulev | KO | 9/12 | 2:58 | Note 1 |
Junior-heavyweight
|
Lawrence Okolie | def. | Nikodem Jeżewski | TKO | 2/12 | 1:45 | Note 2 |
Heavyweight | Hughie Fury | def. | Mariusz Wach | UD | 10 | ||
Heavyweight | Martin Bakole | def. | Sergey Kuzmin | UD | 10 | Note 3 | |
Light-middleweight
|
Kieron Conway | def. | Macaulay McGowan | UD | 10 | ||
Welterweight | Florian Marku | vs. | Jamie Stewart | Draw | 8 | ||
Super-bantamweight
|
Qais Ashfaq | def. | Ashley Lane | TKO | 4/8 | 0:20 |
International heavyweight title
Broadcasters
The fight was televised live in the United Kingdom and Ireland on
References
- ^ "Anthony Joshua vs Kubrat Pulev London date set for heavyweight world title defence". Independent. 13 December 2020. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020.
- ^ "Anthony Joshua shows his mettle with dramatic knockout of Kubrat Pulev". Guardian. 12 December 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ^ Anderson, David (28 August 2017). "Anthony Joshua's next opponent revealed". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
- ^ "Joshua to make next defense Oct. 28 vs. Pulev". ESPN.com. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
- ^ Kini, Abhinav (13 September 2017). "Record-breaking 70,000 tickets sold in Cardiff as Joshua vs Pulev becomes fastest-selling event". International Business Times UK. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
- ^ "Pulev Reportedly Injured, Anthony Joshua Fight in Jeopardy - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. 16 October 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
- ^ "Anthony Joshua vs. Carlos Takam Finalized For October 28 - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. 16 October 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
- ^ "Anthony Joshua vs Kubrat Pulev Confirmed Tottenham Stadium". Talksport. 2 March 2020. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
- ^ "Anthony Joshua's world title defence against Kubrat Pulev in June has been postponed". Sky Sports. 3 April 2020. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
- ^ "Официално: Ще има фенове на Пулев - Джошуа, ето цените на билетите". www.sportlive.bg (in Bulgarian). 2 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
- ^ ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ^ "Hearn thought AJ fight would be stopped earlier as ref decisions questioned". talkSPORT. 13 December 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ^ "Joshua outclasses Pulev in knockout win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ^ "Fury's on track to fight me - Joshua". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 December 2020.