Joshua Set To Defend His Titles Against Pulev In Wembly This Saturday

World Heavy Weight champion, Anthony Joshua will tonight defend his titles against his challenger, Kubrat Pulev in SSE Arena, Wembly with 1,000 boxing enthusiasts watching live.

It will be the first time he’s boxed in England since September 2018 as he makes his first world title defence since winning back his WBA, WBO and IBF belts from Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia just over a year ago.

The Bulgarian was set to face AJ in Cardiff back in 2017 before he was ruled out of the contest through injury.

Now he has vowed to cause an upset in London and end hope of an all-British undisputed fight between Joshua and Tyson Fury in 2021.

Meanwhile Joshua was able to end his short period in self-isolation on Wednesday morning when his coronavirus test came back negative ahead of his world heavyweight clash with Kubrat Pulev on Saturday.

The 31-year-old entered Matchroom’s bio-secure bubble in London on Tuesday and had to stay in his room for the night before being given the all-clear.

Once Joshua’s test results were confirmed, the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belt-holder made his way to the gym to carry on preparations for Saturday’s bout at Wembley’s SSE Arena.

Anthony Joshua exerted his control over Kubrat Pulev during weigh-in drama; what does AJ’s weight tell us about the performance to expect?

It was a subtle gesture but it led to Joshua asserting himself more firmly at the weigh-in by pointing, snarling, gnashing teeth and delivering a reminder of who the world heavyweight champion is.

But amid the chaos, the shirtless heavyweights and the flustered extras there was a composed sense of control about Joshua.

Watch his interview after – at no point was he amped up, at no point did his heart beat any faster.

This was a calculated and vindictive expression of Joshua’s internal fire to let Pulev know that he did not appreciate his challenger speaking out of turn the day before.

“I know what he’s like, I have studied him,” revealed Joshua moments after whipping Pulev into a frenzy.

It was the Bulgarian who was shouting, gesticulating wildly and losing his rag while Joshua muttered a few home truths to him.

The theme of this build-up has been Joshua’s increasing similarity to Wladimir Klitschko, his former opponent, his mentor and the only man to beat Pulev.

The way Joshua is having his hands wrapped and is unusually sparring just 48 hours away from the fight is vintage Klitschko, and so was the way he commanded the ruckus erupting around him.

Pulev has been embroiled in a nasty weigh-in clash before with (you guessed it) Derek Chisora and you wonder if Joshua noted that, and considered how it made his rival react.

But however much Joshua harnesses the example of Klitschko, who he spoke to for an hour on Wednesday about this fight, what separates him is the burning aggression he hinted towards at Friday’s weigh-in.

That is the Joshua that is so compelling to watch inside and outside of the ring.

He said this week: “I’ve been smashing the heavy bag and sparring opponents – that’s the best strength and conditioning I can get.

“I don’t do the bench press or the bicep curls.

“When I first started boxing, I knew that the mass market didn’t want to be professional boxers but everybody went to the gym. So I would always record my gym sessions.

“That’s why I got the name for being in the gym more than the boxing gym.

“I’m always in the boxing gym. I will always have a buff body because I eat good, sleep good, treat myself good.

“The day you see me with a one-pack and a belly is the day I retire!”