Anthony Joshua v Kubrat Pulev Tips: Back AJ to dominate at Wembley
It’s the long awaited return of the two-time unified Heavyweight Champion of the World, Anthony Joshua this Saturday night and @WhatAdam_Said has cast his eye over the contest at Wembley Arena...
AJ takes on ‘The Cobra’ Kubrat Pulev in a bout that could potentially lead to a clash with Tyson Fury should AJ come through this one comfortably.
Joshua will be looking to make a statement after regaining his titles a little over a year ago in his rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr, and goes into Saturday as the clear 1/12 favourite, whereas the bookies are giving his opposite number just a 12% chance of winning with odds of 7/1.
Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev boasts eight wins from his last eight fights, however the first five of those since his defeat at the hands of Wladimir Klitschko had lost at least five times before, with Arias and Harris having already lost 13 and 20 times respectively.
AJ’s last fight against Ruiz Jr, was a more disciplined 12 rounds of boxing with no fighter being knocked down. However, it needed to be a masterclass from Joshua who clearly set out to outbox his opponent and be more cautious, rather than throwing aimlessly to get the knockout.
In the first contest, Andy Ruiz Jr was picking himself up off the canvas in the third after a neat combo from AJ, but at the midway point in the same round, underdog Ruiz came back with a knockdown of his own.
Pulev hasn’t really been tested since he fought Wladimir Klitschko five years ago and in that fight, The Cobra found himself down after just one minute and 11 seconds of the very first round. The Bulgarian may well be a lot slower given his age and AJ may well have the upper hand from the off being the younger and no doubt fitter of the two.
It all comes down to who let's go first, and given AJ’s early knockdown against Ruiz and Pulev’s against Klitschko, it could be either one that lets rip first, and either one of them to secure an early knockdown to assert their dominance in the contest.
Looking at AJ’s last fight against a 39 year old Alexander Povetkin, who was the same age as Kubrat Pulev is now, he seemed to back off, and let Povetkin tire himself out before taking the upper hand from the halfway stage onwards. He won the fight in round seven by way of a TKO . That could well be the game plan for this one for the Brit.
When the original contest was due to take place, Joshua beat Carlos Takam at a career high weight of 18 stone two before Pulev pulled out, and that gives an indication that AJ was aiming to reap power on the Bulgarian, and that could well be the case here. Should he go in with the same game plan as he did in the win over Povetkin, added to that added firepower, and the fact that Pulev’s weakness against Klitschko was the left hook, when Pulev tires, Anthony Joshua can pounce.
This will be a big test for Kubrat Pulev, and if Anthony Joshua wants the big fight with Tyson Fury, he will need to send a message and dominate. His opponent was knocked down four times against Klitschko, all four by way of Left Hooks.
Joshua has proved he’s got plenty of power in his left. In his fight against Povetkin, he stunned the Russian with a big left hand before finishing the knockdown with a swift right straight. With the right side being a visible weakness for Pulev, it could well be that AJ targets that with his power and see The Cobra hissing on the canvas on more than one occasion if he doesn’t cover up.
The fight and undercard are all on Sky Box Office from 6pm this Saturday night and with 2,000 fans expected to be in attendance in Wembley Arena. Let’s hope for a good clean fight, a brilliant spectacle, and as always, please gamble responsibly.
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