Kubrat Pulev has said it again and again, and Bob Arum has said it again and again – Anthony Joshua will lose when he fights Pulev. The fight is of course set for December 12 in London (and Eddie Hearn says he is going to extreme measures to ensure the fight has full safety precautions; with Pulev set to arrive in the UK some weeks ahead of the fight and then placed inside “the bubble,” Hearn in no mood to see this fight fall through due to a positive test for Covid).
Speaking with Betway Insider Blog, 39-year-old Pulev says he will “expose” Joshua, a fighter who he insists does not have the same amount of mental strength that he has.
“I have been watching his fights carefully. He has a good style, and he is a good specimen, but he has not shown the mental toughness,” Pulev said of Joshua. “Yes, he has skills, but he hasn’t shown the mental strength. This is something from within, in the blood of a man, and he does not have it.
“Whatever mental toughness he’s got, I know I’m the harder person. This is the difference – my toughness will prevail. I can tell the fans that I will expose AJ again and prove they have been idolizing the wrong guy. I will expose him to the world for a second time.”
Pulev also said that the fight will be a “mind game and a chess game” until the ending of the fight, which will “come like lightning.” So, is Pulev planning to take Joshua into the later rounds, wear him out, and then score the swift and sudden KO?
Maybe this is what he’s planning, but can the Bulgarian do it? Arum has said many times that “my guy Pulev knocks Joshua out.” If this happens, there will be no mega-fight between Joshua and Tyson Fury.
A whole lot will be at stake on the night of December 12, that’s for sure. And with the recent news that two interesting heavyweight fights will make up the under-card – Hughie Fury Vs. Mariusz Wach and Martin Bakole vs. Sergey Kuzmin – the value for money is good. The other big fight taking place on the card, between Krzysztof Glowacki and Lawrence Okolie, for the WBO cruiserweight title, could prove to be the most explosive fight of the night.
