IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO Heavyweight Challenge
Last night’s Heavyweight Bout inside the SSE Arena, Wembley in London, UK was a homecoming fight for Unified Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua (24-1, 22 Kos) and Kubrat Pulev (28-2, 14 Kos) that did not disappoint.
AJ looked good last night, focussed, assertive, poised and did not deviate from the “game plan“ at hand. His jab and uppercut were key last night and he handled his opponent the right way, dropping Pulev four times throughout the bout to a convincing stoppage in the 9th round.
Pulev, a worthy opponent, tried to keep up with AJ but was simply met with a better, complete and motivated fighter in AJ. Anthony worked the ring well and controlled every round while wearing Pulev down.
Kubrat couldn’t put any type of a convincing offence together long enough to deter Anthony who showed much improvement in his repertoire. Pulev showed some durability at times throughout the bout but Anthony’s size and power proved to be too much.
The “End Game” was inevitable and in the 9th round when AJ connected with a vicious strong and accurate right hand to Kubrat’s jaw that put him down indefinitely for the 10 count.
With this emphatic win by AJ, he now retains his IBF/IBO/WBA “Super” and WBO Heavyweight Titles. This was a much-needed win for Anthony last night. He needed to make a statement of Pulev and show the Heavyweight Division that he is nothing to play with inside that squared circle. The road to undisputed is still the mission at hand.
Congratulations AJ on finishing this turbulent year 2020 in a strong fashion.
Blaze