Some are expecting fireworks when Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev clash at the SSE Arena, Wembley, tonight, but hall of fame promoter Frank Warren believes the unified heavyweight champion will adopt a safety-first approach to protect a potential mega-fight against his boxer Tyson Fury.
Joshua and Bulgarian challenger Pulev had to be separated at a heated weigh-in on Friday, but Warren feels the Brit will employ clever movement and box carefully at a distance as he did in his revenge win over former conqueror Andy Ruiz 12 months ago.
“Anthony Joshua showing vulnerability has made his fights even more interesting. Now even more want to tune to see if he will get his whiskers tested like Andy Ruiz did last year [in a seven-round upset loss in June 2019]. But I believe we will see a repeat of the performance from him that he delivered against Ruiz in the rematch,” Warren told The Daily Mail.
“And I say that as a big fan of Joshua, no matter what the preconception may be about that. He’s a British fighter so, of course, I want him to be successful – just not against Tyson Fury. After getting floored so many times against [Ruiz] in the first fight, Joshua went on the back foot in Saudi Arabia and boxed his way to an easy points win.
“I think we will see a similar performance to that against Kubrat Pulev tonight. Why? Because there is simply too much to lose for him if he suffered a shock second defeat in his career. That is because there is a huge clash with Fury waiting for next year.
“But first, we cannot rule out Pulev throwing a massive spanner in the works. He’s 39, not at the top of his game but he will have in his mind to land his big bombs. He’s been up there in the world rankings for god knows how long. This is his chance so he will give it a good go.”
Main image: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing.