With heavyweight chatter already focusing on a titanic encounter between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua next year, contender Hughie Fury has warned ‘AJ’ not to underestimate Bulgarian challenger Kubrat Pulev at the weekend.
Fury, cousin of WBC champion Tyson, dropped a decision to Pulev in a raw and bloody affair in Sofia back in October 2018 and believes the Bulgarian can give Joshua issues, especially in the early going.
“Pulev is a very difficult fighter. He’ll give Joshua problems in the early rounds and then [AJ] doesn’t need to let him set behind his jab,” Fury told Sky Sports. “If he lets Pulev sit behind his jab, he’s going to have problems.”
Yet, drawing on his own experiences against the hulking Bulgarian, Fury believes Joshua’s strength and vitality should eventually take their toll as Saturday’s fight enters the championship rounds.
“Don’t let him get comfortable. I think Pulev dies out in the later rounds,” continued Fury. “Obviously, I had the cut and I was worn out after putting everything into the third round [against Pulev].
“In the eighth, he started to slow down. His defence was more leaky and that’s when I was able to wobble him. But I didn’t have the energy to finish him.”
Fury will feature on Saturday night’s undercard at the SSE Arena when he locks horns with Polish veteran Mariusz Wach and the 26-year-old is promising a memorable performance as he builds his own challenge at a world heavyweight championship.
“You’re going to see something special,” insisted Fury (24-3, 14 KOs). “Mariusz Wach has never seen anything like my style. He’s been in with everyone but he’s never been in with anyone like me.
“I’m going to take over the heavyweight division one day. Believe me, he’s not going to go the distance.”