Kubrat Pulev: record, next fight and profile →
As reported on Monday on BoxingScene.com, heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will defend his IBF, IBO, WBA world titles against Carlos Takam after Bulgaria's Kubrat Pulev withdrew due to a shoulder injury. The 28-year-old will take on Frenchman Takam in Cardiff on Oct. 28, in his first bout since defeating Wladimir Klitschko to win the WBA, IBO titles in April.
Carlos Takam has replaced Kubrat Pulev as the IBF mandatory challenger for Anthony Joshua at Principality Stadium in Cardiff on October 28, live on Sky Sports Box Office. Frenchman Takam is rated at number three with the governing body and has been on the hunt for a showdown with the British star, and gets his golden chance at ripping away Joshua’s titles in the Welsh capital after Pulev picked up a shoulder injury in sparring.
Reports are coming out of Bulgaria that Kubrat Pulev has suffered a chest injury ahead of his IBF/WBA/IBO heavyweight title challenge against Anthony Joshua, The bout, which was due to take place on October 28, on Sky Box Office in the UK and Showtime in America, at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff could now be in jeopardy following a report on btv.bg
In hindsight, Kubrat Pulev realizes he wasn’t ready to challenge Wladimir Klitschko three years ago. The Bulgarian contender was undefeated at the time, but he wasn’t as prepared as possible to dethrone the long-reigning heavyweight champion in his first world title fight. Klitschko knocked out Pulev in the fifth round of their November 2015 bout in Hamburg, Germany, a little more than a year before British underdog Tyson Fury upset Klitschko.
Anthony Joshua's upcoming showdown with Kubrat Pulev will be a clash of styles, according to former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. Unbeaten WBA, IBF and IBO world heavyweight champion Joshua, 27, will face Bulgarian Pulev at Cardiff's Principality Stadium on October 28. Pulev, 36, emerged as Joshua's mandatory challenger after Klitschko retired following his memorable defeat to the Briton before a record crowd of 90,000 at Wembley in April.
If Kubrat Pulev pulls off an upset against Anthony Joshua on October 28, he has promised strangers in need will benefit from his success. The Sun of London reported Wednesday that Pulev plans to donate half of his purse to charity if he beats Joshua in their heavyweight title fight at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. The Bulgarian contender is a 14-1 underdog against the huge British knockout artist, but could walk away from their mandated title fight with a £2 million purse ($2.67 million), according to The Sun.
If both fighters continue to win, a blockbuster unification showdown is guaranteed between WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (38-0, 37 KOs) and IBF, IBO, WBA Anthony Joshua (19-0, 19 KOs), according to Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport. Before that collision can happen, both boxers would have to be successful in their upcoming assignments.
Showtime announced Thursday afternoon it will televise the Anthony Joshua-Kubrat Pulev fight live October 28 from Cardiff, Wales. The British superstar has as a multi-fight agreement with Showtime, but it allows Joshua’s promoter, Matchroom Sport’s Eddie Hearn, to shop his fights to other American television outlets, namely HBO. Joshua’s fights typically air on pay-per-view in the United Kingdom (Sky Sports Box Office).
After a knock-down, drag-out brawl with Wladimir Klitschko, Anthony Joshua doesn’t want to make his mandatory title defense against Kubrat Pulev any more taxing than necessary. The huge heavyweight champion has been working with trainer Rob McCracken on the mistakes he made, particularly defensively, during his eventual 11th-round stoppage of Klitschko on April 29 in London. Klitschko dropped a seemingly punched-out Joshua in the sixth round of that memorable battle, but Joshua got his second wind and knocked down Klitschko for the second and third times in the 11th round.
A record breaking 70,000 tickets have been sold for the World Heavyweight title showdown between Anthony Joshua MBE and Kubrat Pulev at Principality Stadium in Cardiff on October 28, live on Sky Sports Box Office. Tickets have been snapped up by fans eager to see the biggest star in the sport meet his IBF mandatory challenger in his 20th pro outing as he hunts a 20th straight KO win – and the event has become the fastest selling sporting show at the stadium, and has beaten the record set when 63,000 witnessed the rematch between Muhammad Ali and Leon Spinks at the New Orleans Superdrome in 1978.