In what I would class as a plausible performance last night, Anthony Joshua 24-1 (22 Ko’s) successfully defended his 3 legitimate championship belts by dispatching the rugged Kubrat Pulev 28-1 (14 Ko’s) in 9 rounds at Wembley Arena in front of 1000 social distanced attendees.. Pulev had become very animated in the days leading up to the fight, but failed to knock Joshua out of his groove, Anthony maintained his composure throughout the fight and never once looked troubled by the 39 year old Bulgarian.. Joshua dictated with the jab, setting up short combinations in bursts.. Anthony made the breakthrough in the third, dropping Pulev twice and almost forcing the Bulgarian to turn away from the onslaught.. Kubrat showed impressive mettle to hang in there for a further 6 sessions before Joshua finally moved through the gears, dropped Pulev for a third time before knocking his onto his back for the stoppage.. The time was 2:58 of the 9th..
Despite his brave effort, I have to question why a man who has barely beaten a ranked opponent in 5 years gets a shot at the unified championship.. Joshua v Pulev may have been the best passable option under social distancing circumstances before Hearn and Joshua move into more financially beneficial events once the Covid restrictions are lifted.. I expect AJ to face Oleksandr Usyk next, unless Fury and Top Rank make something happen in the meantime.
The undercard saw Martin Bakole and Hughie Fury win points decisions over Sergey Kuzmin and Mariusz Wach respectively..
