[ad_1]
He is back. And again in style.
More than two years after he last boxed at home, Anthony Joshua put on a fantastic show on his return to the UK.
The WBA, WBO and IBF World Heavyweight Champion arrested Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev in the ninth round at Wembley Arena, London.
Going into the fight, many of us wondered what ‘AJ’ we would see.
The explosive and powerful combination puncher who raced to a world title in just his 16th professional fight?
The stunned and vulnerable fighter who was detained and shocked by Andy Ruiz in June 2019?
Or the technically astute boxer who showed his smarts in the ring to avenge that loss six months later?
The fans are back
When AJ beat Wladimir Klitschko in 2017, a post-war record of 90,000 fans packed Wembley Stadium. On Saturday night, only 1,000 lucky spectators were able to enter Wembley Arena.
Hand sanitization, facial markings and social distancing – it was a whole new experience for the boxing fans in attendance …
An echo of Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline bounced off the sand, cheers and boos greeted each hit and the shouts of ‘Ohhh, Anthony Joshua’ were frequent – those lucky enough to get a ticket certainly made their voices heard. .
Even the Mayor of London was glad to see the return of boxing fans …
Joshua explosive in the third round
After a cautious opening, in which both fighters measured each other, Joshua came to life in the third round.
A barrage of punches and Pulev turned his back, giving the umpire no choice but to start the count of 10. An uppercut from Joshua followed, this time Pulev hitting the mat.
Fighters past and present loved it …
Throwing jabs, unleashing vicious uppercuts, Joshua was unquestionably on top.
But Pulev, in an almost sinister way, only smiled at all times …
However, Joshua couldn’t find the end, as Pulev settled into the middle rounds …
But it didn’t take long for the champion to find that second wind.
Another attack dropped Pulev in the ninth. Somehow, he got back up. But an impressive and accurate forehand from Joshua put an end to the Bulgarian’s pursuit of the world title.
It was a declaration finale against a high-level contender. And Joshua earned their applause …
‘I’ll knock out Joshua in three’ – Fury
So Joshua has overcome a possible banana skin. And the stage is now set for what would undoubtedly be the biggest, and probably richest, heavyweight fight among all Brits; Joshua vs. Tyson Fury.
For the past few weeks, there has been speculation that WBC champion Fury would be in attendance on Saturday night. But the ‘Gypsy King’ had already discarded those rumors …
Although there was always a bit of illusion, Fury would still move. Remember, this is the man who once appeared at a press conference dressed as Batman.
As expected, immediately after Joshua’s win, the spotlight turned to the potential Joshua-Fury mega-fight in 2021 …
It didn’t take long for Fury to address his rival’s performance.
“I want the fight next. I will knock him out in three rounds,” he said in a video.
But will it really happen? The promoters of both fighters are sending all the right signals.
Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, who represents Joshua, said: “Starting tomorrow, we will do the Tyson Fury fight right away. It is the only fight that can be done in boxing. It is the biggest fight in boxing history. British”.
And American Bob Arum, who co-promotes Fury, had this to say …
Mayweather’s surprise appearance
Despite the fact that Fury did not honor Wembley with his presence, there was a suitable replacement.
Floyd Mayweather, one of the greatest boxers of all time, hopped on his private jet from Las Vegas and made a surprise appearance in London to cheer on Joshua …
This fan couldn’t resist having a pop on Mayweather for his planned exhibition fight against YouTuber Logan Paul …
And BBC Radio 5 Live’s Mike Costello also had a little laugh while on the air with expert Steve Bunce.
“Just walking into the arena is a man in a baseball cap that says ‘TBE,’ the best ever,” Costello said.
“Floyd Mayweather is in the house and it’s very nice of him to take some time, Steve, because he has that ‘massive’ fight coming up against Logan Paul in February.
“Stop laughing Steve …”
[ad_2]
