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Anthony Joshua knocks down Kubrat Pulev three times in a spiteful and vicious performance that would have caught the attention of Tyson Fury; Scroll down to book replays of AJ vs Pulev
Last Updated: 12/12/20 11:59 pm
Anthony Joshua KO’d Kubrat Pulev
Anthony Joshua brutally knocked out Kubrat Pulev in the ninth round of their world heavyweight championship fight at the SSE Arena, Wembley, on Saturday night.
Joshua knocked down Pulev hard three times, twice in the final round, and ended the fight with a ruthless right hand to retain his IBF, WBA and WBO titles.
Joshua’s explosive performance would have demanded Tyson Fury’s attention – they are still on a collision course to decide an undisputed champion in 2021.
Undefeated WBC champion Fury has the only major belt outside of Joshua’s control and a meeting between them would be the biggest fight in world boxing – after delivering this thrilling knockout in front of a crowd of 1,000 plus the great boxer Floyd Mayweather, Joshua took a step. closer to making it happen.
His first fight since avenging a loss to Andy Ruiz Jr a year ago would have ended explosively in the third round if his challenger Pulev had not had a warrior determination to continue when he was knocked down, but there was no way to escape the final knockout.
Joshua barely broke eye contact with his challenger from the moment he crossed the top rope and stepped into the ring, then his pre-fight punch was aggressive and intense.
When the punches began to fly, Joshua landed a series of punches and Pulev cut him off with a left hook.
When Joshua dropped his hands for the first time with a four-hit salvo in the second round, Pulev smirked at him.
Joshua crushed Pulev with a perfectly timed right hand in the third round that severely injured his opponent.
Joshua chased after him, desperate for the knockout, and landed a brutal barrage of uppercuts and hooks that ultimately dropped Pulev to the canvas.
It seemed likely that it was all over, but Pulev, whose only previous loss in 29 fights was to Wladimir Klitschko, survived until the bell, after which he fired an illegal shot that passed the champion’s face.
Joshua, wide-eyed and tongue sticking out, peered through Pulev into a hole and spoke to him when the next round was ready to begin.
He regained his composure and, in the fifth, crashed with a big right hand that didn’t yield to Pulev, who finished the round strong after a trash talk back and forth.
A spiteful fight turned rough and gritty in the sixth as Pulev began to land wild punches that missed the mark, but forced nasty exchanges.
Joshua’s three consecutive uppercuts hurt Pulev in the seventh, but the tough Bulgarian didn’t give ground.
Pulev then landed his best shot, a straight forehand, in the eighth.
But Joshua closed out the show in the ninth with another colossal hook that dropped Pulev to the ground for the second time.
Still, Pulev got up, but a right hand from Joshua sent him flying backwards and split his bloodied lip, ending the fight in an instant.
Watch reruns of Joshua vs. Pulev on Sunday at 9am and 4pm. Book via your Sky remote or book online here. Even if you are not subscribed to Sky TV, you can reserve and watch it here.
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