ANTHONY JOSHUA will hopefully face Kubrat Pulev in the summer with the Bulgarian veteran trying to blow-up the applecart.
AJ wants an undisputed decider with the winner of Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder’s trilogy bout for the WBC crown.
Anthony Joshua will still hopefully have his title defence in June to look forwardCredit: PA:Press Association
Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev has the potential the upset the odds and down AJCredit: Getty
And the WBA, IBF and WBO king will soon have to face undisputed cruiserweight king Oleksandr Usyk, after he stepped up a division and was made a mandatory challenger.
Those two fantasy fixtures are mouthwatering, while a hopefully routine win over Pulev is failing to whet the appetite as the Brit is a heavy favourite against the soon-to-be 39-year-old.
IBF mandatory challenger Pulev is gearing up for his heavyweight battle with Joshua at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on June 20.
But how does an ageing slugger, giving away all of the physical advantages in height and reach and weight, stand a chance of beating the unified boss?
*THAT* LEFT HOOK
It’s the sweet shot that Dillian Whyte, Alexander Povetkin and Andy Ruiz Jr have all hurt AJ with and decorated amateur Pulev will know how to throw it.
The 6ft 4in Sofia hero does not carry as much power as Whyte or Povetkin and he is not as quick as Ruiz Jr was in the original bout, before he ate himself back into obscurity.
But he will surely watch plenty of AJ film to see what punches he struggles defending against and the left hook will catch his eye.
PRESSURE THE PREDATOR
Prior to his New York disaster, the Watford ace was one of the most feared finishers in the fight game but his last two performances have taken away a bit of the fear factor.
If Pulev wants any chance of success, he needs to walk AJ down and test his boxing skills again.
There were moments in the Ruiz rematch where Joshua was tagged, it was not a totally faultless performance, and that was against a 20st disappointment who had spent the previous six months partying, instead of training.
AJ’s new work with additional trainers Angel Fernandez and Joby Clayton has improved his defensive skills, but so much of his career has been spent in the driving seat that it remains unfamiliar ground.
Trying to press Joshua, without walking on to one of his crunching right hands, will not be easy but Pulev – whose only pro defeat came against a prime Wladimir Klitschko in 2014 – will know how to do it but putting the plan into action will not be so easy.
RUFFLE FEATHERS
Without a good grasp of English, Pulev will struggle to drag AJ into the sort of personal grudge fight Whyte managed and drug cheat Jarrell Miller almost created, and the two-time European ace is not known for his quick wit or trash talk.
But if the challenger can make a couple of cutting comments, perhaps about the champ’s last two performances or the strength of his chin, then he could goad him into the slugfest he will favour.
If Joshua has a cool head he is likely to combine the stick-and-move skills he showed in Saudi Arabia with the vicious KO punching Povetkin, Whyte and Charles Martin fell victim to.
But if Pulev can somehow get inside his head he might be able to tempt him into a close-range tear-up and then we will see how much he deserves his underdog odds.
Anthony Joshua has been hurt with lefts from Andy Ruiz among othersCredit: Getty Images
Fans think Kubrat Pulev will ‘crush’ Antony Joshua after Bulgarian shares video of himself training in ring
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
