Anthony Joshua predicts his heavyweight fight with Pulev likely to end in knockout
- Anthony Joshua ready to battle Bulgarian fighter Kubrat Pulev in a heavyweight bout
- The Briton recently reclaimed his belts after victory over Andy Ruiz in Saudi Arabia last December
- Joshua predicted that the fight might be stretched to the 11th round but suggested it might end in a knockout
World WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has confirmed Saturday, June 20, for his mandatory fight with Kubrat Pulev at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The British born fighter reclaimed his belts following his victory over Andy Ruiz - six months after initially losing them to the American.
Joshua, 30 has now shifted his attention to his next fight against the Bulgarian opposition and the boxer of Nigerian descent believes the bout would be tough.
He insisted that he needed to adjust his strategy before heading into Ruiz's re-match and it paid off at the end of the fight.
The Briton further stated that he will once again change his tactics for the next fight but added that he will keep the mentality and motivation that saw him emerge victorious in Saudi Arabia a few months back.
"Yeah, it's a mandatory challenger, the responsibility of being newly crowned heavyweight champion of the world.
"I have got to follow the duties, and if I don't I will be stripped of my titles which I don't want to be. I fought so hard to get them. So I am up for the challenge, good luck to him. I'll be looking to keep my titles in London.
"Well, you can never really say, you never really know but that fight with Andy Ruiz was a must-win.
He added: "If I wanted the same result, I would have done the same thing on June 1st and that got me beaten.
"So naturally, a smart fighter goes back, adapt, adjust, change some of the plans on the drawing board and goes out to battle again to get a victory.
"And that was the whole point of the matter is I am victorious now. So, the mentality is 100 percent now. The changes 100 percent.
"The style is what I may not take to the next fight. Styles for me I can always adapt, I can change styles, as you see drastically.
"Mentally, I am going to take the same drive, the same motivation, the same understanding that not everyone believes in me.
"And the same understanding that I have got to do it for my supporters. So we will see how it fares up when I start studying Pulev. And I will start adapting my styles towards that.
"Been in the game for a while, he went to the top level and then he got defeated, so he knows his ways around the ring.
"He's had his chance at the top level and he is now coming back again, so he is probably going to try and get it right.
"So I will be expecting, you know a more polished, smarter Pulev. And he can bang in a bit as well, he's had a few knockouts on his records as well.
"He can box, so he is a boxer-puncher - kind of like what my style is as well so it will be a good matchup for sure.
"So we are going to box, people are going to be seeing some skills and they are probably going to see a knockout as well because you have got two boxer-punchers. Do the best man will come out victorious.
Joshua predicted the fight will end in: "Round 11".
YEN.com.gh earlier reported that Anthony Joshua has made a bold prediction about the outcome of his fight with IBF mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev, cited in Mirror and Sky News.
The Nigerian-born British heavyweight champion was pressed to give a prediction on the fight, and he responded: "Round 11."
The WBO, IBO, WBA and IBF champion will face the Bulgarian challenger on June 20, 2020, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Source: YEN.com.gh
