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Dillian Whyte on rival Anthony Joshua’s knockout win over Kubrat Pulev: “It was a good performance, but could have made it easier”; AJ dropped Pulev three times, but was forced to bide his time until the ninth round to kill off his challenger’s hopes.
By James Dielhenn and Johnnie Ellis-Petersen
Last update: 12/13/20 1:30 pm
1:16
Dillian Whyte evaluates Anthony Joshua’s performance
Dillian Whyte evaluates Anthony Joshua’s performance
Anthony Joshua was “caught between two different styles” in his win over Kubrat Pulev, says Dillian Whyte.
Joshua dropped Pulev in the third round, but had to wait until the ninth to secure a brutal knockout and retain his IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles.
Whyte was in the ring to watch Joshua get closer to a dream fight with WBC champion Tyson Fury, but his old rival didn’t convince him.
1:28 Anthony Joshua knocked out Kubrat Pulev to get closer to a dream fight against Tyson Fury.
“It was a strange performance,” Whyte said. Sky sports.
“Don’t get me wrong, he did it right. He did the job.
“But weird because I was caught between two different styles.
“What gave him the victory was going back to the old man and being aggressive.
“It was a good performance, but it could have made it easier. He let Pulev stay longer than necessary.
4:05 Anthony Joshua says he wants to face whoever has the WBC belt and if it’s Tyson Fury then so be it!
“Pulev is a very tough man. I was surprised that he got up, but then Joshua let him get back into the fight in rounds four, five and six.
“I was succeeding at medium and close range, but kept going long distance for no reason.
“Maybe he just wanted to show something different. With the Fury fight, maybe he wanted to show a different side of his game.”
‘Aggression and anger’
3:57 Spencer Oliver on improving Anthony Joshua and dream fight against Tyson Fury.
Sky Sports’ Carl Froch said of Joshua: “The third round was fantastic. I loved the combinations. It showed aggression and anger.
“He should have supported his jab because he sets everything up. If he worked the jab, got in range and put combinations behind the jab, he would have done the work sooner.
“AJ made a great ending.
“AJ took his foot off the gas. He used a lot of energy [in the third round] And he’s a big boy so he swallows the oxygen
“He recovered slowly in rounds four, five and six while Pulev was still taking hits.
Joshua stopped Pulev in the ninth round
“I’m glad that AJ got down to business and gave us the ending that he expected. There was a stage where he said, ‘Come on, step on the gas, get the shots together, get the job done.’
“Then AJ doubled over with his uppercuts and closed the show.
“Pulev did his part, but AJ was brilliant in bursts. Great at first, then it was a constant fight, then a great finish.”
Johnny Nelson added: “He was trying to box. Sometimes he didn’t feel comfortable but he stuck to the plan.
“In the third round, when he pushed, he gassed him for two rounds. He took a second wind in the seventh round and got sharper. He boxed and hit.
“The only criticism is that AJ didn’t use the jab to rest and throw Pulev off balance. I liked his movement, power, patience.”
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