By Luke Furman

Olympic gold medal winner Anthony Joshua, who is fast becoming a rising force in the heavyweight division, expects WBO/IBO/WBA/IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko to retain his title with a twelve round decision victory over mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev in Hamburg, Germany.

Joshua credits the undefeated Pulev with being a better overall fighter than Alexander Povetkin, who also won a gold medal in the Olympics and went the distance with Klitschko last year in an ugly fight.

"I think Wladimir will get the victory, winning by decision. Pulev is a tough guy. He's a warrior and won't give up. He and Povetkin are very different boxers and I think the fight between Klitschko and Pulev will differ significantly from the fight [Wladimir had] with Povetkin. Pulev [is better than Povetkin]. He is more diverse. Povetkin mainly relies on the hooks. He is not a boxer but rather a hooker," Joshua told Sportbox.

Luke Furman covers boxing for bokser.org.