Anthony Joshua vs Pulev LIVE REACTION: AJ wins after BRUTAL KO, Fury fight wanted next – latest updates

BRITISH BEEF

The heavyweight division finally looks set to be unified after Anthony Joshua beat Kubrat Pulev to line up a Battle of Britain clash with Tyson Fury.

The all-British showdown is one fans have longed to see for years.

With both men boasting power and sharp jabs, SunSport takes a look at how they compare.

LIGHTS OUT

Take another look at how Anthony Joshua dispatched Kubrat Pulev on Saturday night.

FUR SURE

Daniel Dubois tipped Tyson Fury to beat Anthony Joshua - having sparred both the heavyweight champions.

Fury, 32, and Joshua, 31, have verbally agreed a two-fight deal for 2021, as they eye an undisputed title decider.

He told SPORTbible: "Fury at the moment. His skill and his know-how, coupled with his confidence should beat Joshua.

"But it will be a really good fight. I wouldn't be surprised if it went the other way and Joshua won."

ANT THE MAN

Tyson Fury’s former trainer Ben Davison was full of praise for Anthony Joshua after his win over Kubrat Pulev.

He told iFL TV: "I’ve always ranked Joshua that little bit lower than the rest of the competitors because he was a little bit one-dimensional.

“Now he’s starting to show versatility. That’s fantastic, and it’s great that he’s working on that. But Tyson’s extremely versatile and comfortable being versatile.

“He’s comfortably pressing the action and keeping it long. He’s comfortable pressing the action and making it short. He’s comfortable orthodox and southpaw.

“That’s a really hard thing to overcome because if something’s working for Joshua then Tyson can take that away.

“There will be moments in the fight where adjustments have to be made, and that’s why it’s become more of an intriguing fight now.

“There are layers to Anthony Joshua now that there weren’t before. I just think Tyson is more versatile and his non-punching activity rate is through the roof.”

MAKING OF A CHAMPION

Anthony Joshua shared a series of incredible throwback pictures documenting his life from a troubled kid in Watford to heavyweight champion of the world.

The British star - who knocked out Kubrat Pulev on Saturday to line up a Battle of Britain clash with Tyson Fury - uploaded the images to his Instagram story.

The amazing snaps show Joshua, 31, in the gym as a youngster, working his way up the boxing ranks in small-hall amateur fights.

The pictures all shared a similar theme, showing Joshua working hard, "hustling", working out "25/8" rather than "24/7" in his bid to become champion.

Elsewhere, Joshua can be seen sitting in a new car, purchased well before he was 2012 Olympic champion, proudly showing off his wheels in 2007.

FURY ROAD

Eddie Hearn has hit back at Tyson Fury after the Gypsy King said Anthony Joshua had “s*** himself” on live TV after his fight against Kubrat Pulev.

Hearn jumped to the defence of his client, insisting AJ is not the sort of personality to scream and shout, as well as revealing his desire is to ensure the feuding pair meet in the ring.

Hearn retorted in an interview with iFLTV: “We’ll see who is s* themselves.

“Ultimately, AJ is not the kind of guy that’s going to scream and shout on TV and call people ‘Dossers’, that’s not his style.

“So we’ll let Tyson do that, we’ll sign the fight and get it done.”

DILL ME IN

Dillian Whyte has once again stated he is ready to take on anyone in the heavyweight division.

FAST AND FURYOUS

Tyson Fury is taking legal action to get himself removed from BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year shortlist.

He said:“I’ve asked nicely to be taken off the list and they’ve decided they weren’t going to take me off the list.

“So I’ve had my lawyer send them a letter demanding that I be taken off the list so let’s hope they listen and get me off that list.”

Before adding: “I don’t need any awards from any TV stations or organisations for me to know who I am.

“I know who I am, know what I’ve done, and I don’t need a big pat on the back and don’t need a glass trophy.

"No disrespect to anyone who wants it, but I see everyone clamouring to get on that list and I’m clamouring to get off it. I don’t need gratification from anybody."

KING'S ORDER

Tyson Fury has told Anthony Joshua to ‘grow a pair and sign the contract’ for their heavyweight unification bout.

Appearing on Good Morning Britain, he said: “I watched the fight and was very impressed with what he did and then it came to the end of the fight and they did the interview, the public wanted to hear that he would fight me and he avoided the question.

“It was a bit disappointing to be honest because it’s been such a long time building up over the years and he avoided the question like he didn’t want the fight so I had to get straight on social media and make everyone know I’m willing and ready to take the fight.

“Grow a pair and sign the contract big boy.”

Speculation has mounted that the duo had verbally agreed a two-fight deal worth around half a billion quid to get it on in 2021.

MAY DAY

Anthony Joshua talked tactics with Floyd Mayweather after his win over Kubrat Pulev.

He said: "Floyd's retired and is a great inspiration to the boxing community.

"It was great to have him in the house even if his bling was blind from me certain angles during the fight.

"I've learned from everyone. I enjoyed the uppercut tonight, that was in honour of Mike Tyson.

"I have been working on the Larry Holmes jab, the Ernie Shavers power, the Evander Holyfield parrt.

"I take inspiration from a lot of the greats. Boxing is a serious business and you have to indulge yourself in the greats, who have come before you, to be great."

PARKER BACKS FURY

Joseph Parker has backed Tyson Fury to knock out Anthony Joshua in THREE ROUNDS.

Fury called out AJ to meet in an undisputed title decider after his long-time rival stopped Kubrat Pulev in devastating fashion.

And the Gypsy King promised it would take him just three rounds to beat Joshua and emerge as the division’s No1.

He told iFL TV: “If he says it and he believes it, I’m sure he can.”

“It’s a fight we must see. It’s a fight that should be made. 

“Fury wins that fight. I just think he’s a very smart boxer and can fight. He showed it in his last fight.”

'CHESS NOT CHECKERS'

Floyd Mayweather watched ringside at the SSE Arena last night as Anthony Joshua beat Kubrat Pulev.

A video shared by Matchroom Boxing showed Mayweather and Joshua sharing a few words after the fight, with the American telling AJ: "It's chess not checkers."

Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn revealed the pair spent a further hour chatting backstage after their initial conversation.

BOXING ROYALTY

AJ poses for a picture with Floyd 'Money' Mayweather, who flew over from the USA for last night's fight.

ICYMI

Tyson Fury has been backed to knock out Anthony Joshua in THREE ROUNDS by Joseph Parker - who said "it's a fight we must see".

New Zealander Parker, who lost to AJ in 2018 and has built a close friendship with Fury, tipped the WBC champion to fulfil his prediction.

He told iFL TV: "If he says it and he believes it, I'm sure he can. It's a fight we must see. It's a fight that should be made. It's a fight where we can see one champion.

"I'm not sure what's holding it up but hopefully they can come to terms so the world can see a mega, mega fight.

"Fury wins that fight. I just think he's a very smart boxer and can fight. He showed it in his last fight."

PALS

Anthony Joshua and Lawrence Okolie both secured victories last night, and celebrated in AJ's dressing room at the end of the night.

'LESS TALK MORE ACTION'

Those were the words of Anthony Joshua after his ninth round TKO of Kubrat Pulev last night.

And he's continuing with that slogan today, with this Instagram post.

CHECKMATE

Floyd Mayweather told Anthony Joshua boxing is a game of 'chess not checkers' in a cryptic chat after the Kubrat Pulev fight.

Boxing royalty Mayweather travelled to London to watch Joshua knock out Pulev in round nine.

Afterwards AJ celebrated his devastating stoppage with the American legend ringside and the pair enjoyed a brief exchange.

In a video uploaded by Matchroom, it catches the moment Joshua leans in to hear some words of wisdom from Mayweather.

He then tells the camera: "He says it's chess not chequers."

HEAR ME OUT

Eddie Hearn has revealed that Anthony Joshua may have to vacate the WBO belt in order to fight British compatriot Tyson Fury.

AJ has repeatedly spoke of his desire to become the first undisputed heavyweight world champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999.

The 31-year-old - who ended a year out of the ring by knocking out Kubrat Pulev on Saturday night - holds the WBA, WBO and IBF belt, while Fury is the proud WBC champ.

Both Hearn and the Gypsy King's US-based promoter Bob Arum confirmed after the bout that talks will take place to pit AJ against Fury in 2021.

But in a huge blow for Joshua, talkSPORT have claimed that the WBO may not sanction the undisputed fight.

They state that the WBO have already given the 2012 Olympic gold medallist two voluntary defences - his rematch against Andy Ruiz Jr and for his KO win over Pulev.

PROMOTER

Eddie Hearn was very pleased to get yesterday's sponsors on camera, thanks to AJ's brutal ninth round TKO.

AJ REACTS TO FURY MESSAGE

Tyson Fury claimed yesterday he would knock Joshua out inside three rounds.

AJ reacted to Fury's callout on BBC Five Live, saying: “That’s good to hear, at least I can get him in the ring! That’s all we want, right? So he is on the right track.

“It’s good, I said Tyson Fury is talented and he will bring the best out of me,” he added.

“So that’s brilliant, I really feel like his confidence, the bookmakers, me studying him – I’ve been to Tyson Fury’s fights when he fought John McDermott when I was still an amateur.

“I went to his fight against [Derek] Chisora, I’ve studied him and I’ve watched him. So when I fight him, it will be good to change those odds and put them in my favour.”

UNITED TARGET REACTS

Manchester United target Jules Kounde took to Twitter last night to celebrate Anthony Joshua's victory.

The 22-year-old has been linked with both Manchester clubs, but his eyes last night were firmly on AJ.

PARKER BACKS FURY

Speaking to IFL TV, Joseph Parker has backed Tyson Fury to beat Anthony Joshua if the pair face off

He said: "Fury wins that fight. I just think he’s a very smart boxer, he can fight and he’s showed it in his last fight."

On Fury's promise of a three round knockout, Parker said: ‘If he says that and he believes it then I’m sure he can.

"You’ve got two champions. Both of them have heart, they can both take a punch and they can both come back from adversity.

"It’s the fight we must see. It’s a fight that should be made and where we can see one champion, one unified champion."

SAY CHEESE

Eddie Hearn, Anthony Joshua and Floyd Mayweather pose for a pic with AJ's belts

OHHHH ANTHONY JOSHUA

AJ has been very active on social media following his ninth round TKO of Kubrat Pulev last night.

This post pokes fun at Pulev's nickname, 'The Cobra', to the tune of Seven Nation Army.

STRANGE KO

Speaking to IFL TV after the AJ fight, Dillian Whyte thought AJ's knockout was a strange one.

He said: “Good win, decent performance, good knockout.

“Strange performance, it seems that he was stuck between two or three different styles.

“He’s got three different trainers in his camp, I don’t understand what’s going on there.

“But he got the victory so you can’t really complain.”