Anthony Joshua vs. Kubrat Pulev Booked For December 12

Kubrat Pulev will challenge Anthony Joshua for his heavyweight championships come December 12 in a much anticipated 12-round affair.

Pulev announced the following on his official website: “It’s official: Pulev vs. Joshua on 12 December in London.”

He then added the following on his Facebook page: “There is no way back, no postponement, no rescheduling! Let the better one win!”

These two were initially supposed to be slated for a fight on June 20, 2020, but it was of course postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Promoter Eddie Hearn also had some things to say regarding the postponement of this match up: “Anthony Joshua‘s world heavyweight fight against mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev will not be postponed again, even if it has to be held behind closed doors.””

Pulev has been waiting for the opportunity to face Joshua for three years now. Aside from their failed booking earlier this year, they were supposed to face one another in October of 2017, but Pulev was forced out of the bout with a shoulder injury.

While we’re still unsure of whether or not fans will be allowed to attend this event, one thing is for certain, they will not let this bout slip through the cracks again.

Mandatory IBF title challenger Pulev will be challenging Joshua for not only his IBF title, but his WBA, WBO, and IBO titles as well. Joshua lost them all in June of 2019 to Andy Ruiz Jr, but won them all back in the immediate rematch.

That remains Joshua’s only defeat, where Pulev has just one defeat as well, where he was KO’d by Wladimir Klitschko in round five when he challenged for the IBF and The Ring heavyweight titles.

Joshua also fought Klitschko, and man what a fight that was! He had to overcome a boatload of adversity, but he ultimately TKO’d the longtime Ukrainian heavyweight champion toward the end of round 11.

Should Joshua win this bout, and should Tyson Fury win his December bout against a thus far unnamed opponent, it puts the both of them in the perfect spot for a clash with one another next spring.

Should they both win those fights, sometime in the spring of 2021, we’ll have the first undisputed heavyweight boxing champion since Lennox Lewis.

Joshua comes into this fight with a record of 23-1 with 21 knockouts, while Pulev comes in with a record of 28-1 with 14 knockouts. The champion certainly has the youth advantage, as he turns 31-years-old in just three days, while Pulev is 39-years-old.

Their frames are relatively similar as well, with Joshua standing 6’6” with an 82” reach, and Pulev standing 6’4” with an 80” reach. This is going to make a great addition to the list of combat sports events coming in December.

Who do you see winning this world class heavyweight title fight?