British world champion not sure what to expect against Bulgarian and insists he isn’t thinking about possible mega bout against Tyson Fury
Anthony Joshua, who defends his three world title belts against challenger Kubrat Pulev at Wembley Arena on Saturday, admitted that “ring rust after a year away” is inevitable.
Joshua, holder of the International Boxing Federation, World Boxing Association, and World Boxing Organisation heavyweight belts, fights in front of a crowd of 1,000 rather than a stadium replete with baying fans, against the 39-year-old Bulgarian he was scheduled to fight three years ago.
The pandemic has taken its grip this year, and Joshua has not been in a fight since winning his belts back in a rematch with Andy Ruiz Jnr in Saudi Arabia on December 7 last year, having faced his first defeat the previous June at Madison Square Garden, New York.
“That’s what makes this fight so interesting. This year has just thrown every obstacle at us all,” said the 31-year-old. “I might go in there, I can tell you that I’m a million dollars, I feel good, I’ve been knocking everyone out in sparring. I’m the one that’s coming up now and I’m going to be the undisputed champ and I go in there on Saturday night and I [might] get my head punched in because I’ve got ring rust. Who knows?
“But I feel good, I’m looking forward to it. I haven’t boxed in such a long time, but that’s why in lockdown I’ve done a lot of training, mental training. I’ve done a lot of sparring, getting my body tough again, getting punched up.
“Sometimes in sparring in my head I’m going to take this round off and let this boy punch me up because I need to get tough. I need to get that thick skin. That’s the closest way I can prepare and I hope it comes to fruition on Saturday.
“In terms of Pulev, three years ago might have been too early for me. I’m more experienced now. I’m wiser. I’ve lost a fight and I would never want to lose a fight again, I know what that feels like.”
Yet he added: “Pulev is wiser as well. With age comes experience and I’m going to be in there with a man who’s mentally strong and experienced. As we’ve all seen with Alexander Povetkin and Wladimir Klitschko, and Mike Tyson and Roy Jones even, age is just a number.”
Pulev lost his opportunity three years ago against a far less experienced young champion, having withdrawn through injury – to be replaced by Carlos Takam in Cardiff on just a few weeks’ notice.
“I was thinking about that the other day, I went through a lot of my career not even knowing what I was doing. I was just fighting,” the champion said. “I watched all fights, I watched the Eric Molina fight the other day, I watched a bit of the Takam fight, I watched the Klitschko fight and I was like, ‘Wow, how was I in these type of fights with the little bit of experience that I had?’
“Looking at who I am today, I like to reflect a lot and I think ‘I was just a pup, I was a little puppy then’. I feel stronger, I feel smarter and it’s the same thing I say with the other guys I’m trying to catch up to and I want to fight. The longer they leave it the tougher it is going to be for them because experience is the best teacher and I’m gaining so much experience every day I step in the gym.”
The fact the fight is taking place in London, makes Joshua purr.
“It’s perfect. There’s that familiarity. I started here in Finchley ABC, went up to Sheffield where I’m based now training. Where have I been? I’ve been in York Hall, O2, Wembley, or Cardiff really. Newcastle early on. I’ve been dotted around the country. It’s comfortable. I don’t have to travel anywhere, It’s good to be here. It makes this easier.”
The key, though, is getting his hand raised in a fist fight on Saturday night, expected to be the catalyst for the biggest, richest fight ever seen between two UK fighters, a meeting with Tyson Fury, the World Boxing Council champion, for the undisputed heavyweight crown. But Joshua is aware that he must not look too far ahead.
“I don’t want to say I took my eye off the ball with Ruiz in New York. People say Ruiz took his eye off the ball for the rematch, but I don’t believe that stuff. For me in New York I knew I had a fight in front of me with a big media presence.
“It’s good to talk about Fury, Wilder, Dubois, Joyce and even the Babics of the world. It’s good to talk about all these guys. My main focus is always Pulev, but it’s tempting to look beyond. We’re painting the bigger picture. That’s what I’m trying to create. It’s tempting to look at what’s beyond me, but it’s motivation rather than a distraction – get through this and move on to the bigger fights.”