After reclaiming his trio of Heavyweight titles from Andy Ruiz, Anthony Joshua is set to defend them this afternoon against IBF mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev at SSE Arena in Wembley, England.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE coverage of the main event. The DAZN broadcast kicks off at 1 p.m. ET, with Joshua and Pulev likely to make the walk closer to 5 p.m. ET.
A fight first planned for 2017, injury and COVID-19 have delayed it until now. Should Joshua come out victorious, he is expected to challenge WBC champ Tyson Fury for undisputed status early next year, a plan Pulev would love to foil. The 39-year-old Bulgarian is unbeaten since a 2014 loss to Wladimir Klitschko and sports wins over Joshua countrymen Dereck Chisora and Hughie Fury. The card will also see top Cruiserweight up-and-comer Lawrence Okolie take on late-notice replacement Nikodem Jezewski, the aforementioned Fury face Polish veteran Mariusz Wach, and knockout artist Martin Bakole meet Sergey Kuzmin in a match up previously scheduled for this summer.
Joshua Vs. Pulev Quick Results:
Heavyweight: Anthony Joshua vs. Kubrat Pulev — Joshua def. Pulev via ninth-round KO
Cruiserweight: Lawrence Okolie vs. Nikodem Jezewski — Okolie def. Jezewski via second-round KO
Heavyweight: Hughie Fury vs. Mariusz Wach — Fury def. Wach via UD
WBC international Heavyweight title: Martin Bakole vs. Sergey Kuzmin — Bakole def. Kuzmin via UD
Super Bantamweight: Qais Ashfaq vs. Ashley Lane — Ashfaq defeats Lane via technical knockout in round four
Welterweight: Florian Marku vs. Jamie Stewart — Stewart and Marku fight to a draw (76-76)
Super Welterweight: Macaulay McGowan vs. Kieron Conway — Conway def. McGowan via UD
Joshua Vs. Pulev Round-By-Round Updates:
WBO/IBF/WBA “Super” Heavyweight Championship: Anthony Joshua vs. Kubrat Pulev
Round one: Tentative start to the fight. Joshua with a jab downstairs. Both mostly feinting and jabbing the body so far. Halfway through. Still just jabs. Joshua tries a cross counter. Left hook lands for Pulev. Joshua tries a 1-2. 10-9 Joshua?
Round two: Same as before, nothing really happening. Joshua tries a combo, clinch. Halfway through. Pulev left hook falls short, Joshua answers with a jab. Joshua seemingly getting the better of the jab battle. Clinch. Joshua tries a 1-2. 10-9, 20-18 Joshua.
Round three: Early clinch. Pulev tries to pursue with the jab, clinch, right from Pulev in close. Joshua fires a 1-2. Hard counter right stings Pulev and Joshua looks to punish him on the ropes. Pulev survives the attack initially, but two massive uppercuts force him to turn his back. He gets an eight-count, still looks a little wobbly. Joshua banging away against his guard and another uppercut puts Pulev on his seat. Again he beats the count. Joshua unable to finish him. Pulev bops him with a right way after the bell and Joshua cracks him with a left hook in return. 10-7, 30-25 Joshua.
Round four: Back to the jab battle. Joshua’s are the heavier. 1-2 from Pulev, clinch. Another clinch. Joshua jabs, clinch. Clinch. Pulev tries a 1-2, clinch. Double jab, glancing rabbit punches from both men. 10-9, 40-34 Joshua.
Round five: Joshua tries a couple uppercuts. Pulev jabs the body, clinch. Clinch. He steps in, clinch. Body jab. Halfway through. Clinch. Pulev body jab, Joshua head jab. Hard right cross from Joshua behind the jab, tries to open up before clinching. More Joshua jabs, Pulev with a 1-2 after a clinch. Two-piece lands for him. Jab exchange. Pulev comes after him with more jabs. 10-9, 50-43 Joshua.
Round six: Joshua misses with a lead right, circles away from a 1-2. Pulev looking to advance with jabs. Clinch. Clinch. Pulev swings a 1-2, clinch. Joshua jabs high-low. Pulev tries to open up on the ropes, clinch. Pulev jabs, avoids a Joshua hook, clinch. 1-2, chopping rights inside. Joshua tries the pull-back counter and uppercut, whiffs. Both land rights in the clinch. Joshua jabs to a cross, clinch. Pulev with a long jab. 10-9 Pulev, 59-53 Joshua.
Round seven: They chip at each other in the clinch early on. Again. Ref warns them for shots to the back of the head. Pulev throws a long right, clinch. More chipping in the clinch. Joshua jabs. Triple uppercut kicks off a combo that Pulev smiles at in response. Joshua jabs the body. Trading jabs. Pulev lands a 1-2, clinch. Clinch. Clinch. More Joshua jabs. He whiffs on an uppercut. 10-9, 69-62 Joshua.
Round eight: Pulev lands a good 1-2 halfway into the first minute. Joshua combo blocked. Jabs to the body. Clinch. More jabs. Halfway through. Clinch. Joshua jabs, misses a counter uppercut, clinch. Good jabs. He tries a pull-back right, clinch. 1-2 falls short. 10-9, 79-71 Joshua.
Round nine: Pulev lands a 1-2, clinch. Joshua jabs. Good one catches Pulev coming in. Tight left hook by Joshua. More jabs, counter uppercut attempt, clinch. Pulev 1-2, tries to chase with the left hook, clinch. Halfway through. Four uppercuts from Joshua, some get through. Jab and a big uppercut hurts Pulev, Joshua sends him down with another uppercut in the clinch. He beats the count, but as soon as they resume, Joshua crushes him with a right cross. Though Pulev manages to wake up, he takes the 10-count.
Final result: Joshua def. Pulev by knockout
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