ANTHONY JOSHUA is hot favourite to beat Kubrat Pulev when the pair go to battle in London tonight.
But in a dramatic simulation on legendary video game Fight Night Champion, the Brit was beaten by the Bulgarian in a stunning tenth round KO.
After a long hard slog both that saw both men exchange some serious shots in the first nine rounds, Joshua’s stamina started to drop.
The Bulgarian slugger batted away Joshua’s attempted grabs with a couple of stiff jabs before landing the final blows.
A staggering Joshua dropped his guard before Pulev struck with a vicious left-right hook combo with around two and a half minutes in left in the tenth.
Joshua staggered after the left but the right put him face down on the canvas and he was unable to get up as the ref counted him out.
On Friday, in real life, the two men clashed at the weigh in as security guards had to pull them apart.
AJ, 31, got his giant right hand on the Bulgarian’s left shoulder after the 39-year-old veteran overstepped the mark as a war of words broke out in a chorus of screams and shouts from his team.
The enraged Brit called Pulev a ‘pussy’ after being repeatedly taunted.
Joshua weighed-in at 17st 2lbs, three pounds heavier than he was for the rematch win over Andy Ruiz Jr in December 2019.
And after both fighters completed the formalities, they broke out into a battle of shouting and finger wagging, following by a round of fist punching.
Eddie Hearn later confessed the brawl was NOT staged and he ‘has the skid marks’ to prove it as security guards held back members of Pulev’s team.
On the scuffle, AJ said: “I don’t know what sparked that. That’s just how we are.
“He has spoken a lot of rubbish and now he has to back it up.
“I have seen so many fighters talk a load of rubbish and then get smacked up.
“If you don’t know boxing then that sort of thing could intimidate you but I could have whacked him up there but I have to save it for tomorrow.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
