Anthony Joshua knocked out Kubrat Pulev in the ninth round at London’s Wembley Arena on Saturday to retain his IBF, WBA and WBO world heavyweight titles.
Joshua floored Pulev heavily on three occasions, twice in the final round.
The explosive performance from Joshua would have demanded the attention of Tyson Fury; they remain on a collision course to decide an undisputed champion in 2021.
Undefeated WBC champion Fury holds the only major belt outside of Joshua’s grip and a meeting between them would be the biggest match in world boxing – after delivering this thrilling knockout in front of a crowd of 1,000 people plus boxing great Floyd Mayweather, Joshua moved a step closer to making it a reality.
The fight that the boxing world now craves is Joshua vs Fury; they each have other challengers circling, Oleksandr Usyk and Deontay Wilder respectively – but the two Brits putting every heavyweight belt on the line would be an historic occasion.
“It was a fight. I want less talk and more action in boxing. I hope everyone was satisfied tonight,” Joshua said. “I stuck to what I know best — boxing, looking to where I put my shots. When I was successful, I was successful. I really don’t want to do an interview right now, I just want everyone to go home and enjoy their Christmas.”
