A lot of odds might be dangling against Nigerian-born world boxing heavyweight champion, Anthony Olaseni Oluwafemi Joshua more than his fans could imagine heading into this Sturday’s title defence against Bulgaria’s Kubrat Pulev, megasportsarena.com reports.
This is the terse verdict of a fight expert, Steve Bunce, who opined that the onus of defeat is actually against Joshua than Pulev, as the belt holder has everything to lose in yet another banana-peel bout, like he had against Mexican-American, Andy Ruiz Jnr in June last year.
‘AJ’ surprisingly lost that fight against an overweight substitute that had only three months to prepare for the bout, after the initial challenger had to be dropped due to a failed drugs’ test and, though Joshua eventually won his belts back in a rematch last December, Bunce is warning about another likely upset his weekend in London.
The fight expert stated as much in his preview to Saturday’s big night in London, heading into which he reckoned that the man under pressure would be pressure, who will have to hold his nerve, contain his desires and brush aside anxiety for a massive result in order to avoid what could be another disastrous loss for him in the roped square.
He went on to allude at the possibility of distractions also wading into Joshua’s focus, as the champ could enter the ring with a tendency to underrate Pulev, while subconsciously setting his mind on megabucks and the undisputed status he is bound to gain from next year’s long awaited ‘Battle of Britain’ with fellow-Brit, Tyson Fury.
Bunce expressed his cautious views at length in a column he wrote for British newspaper, The Independent, where he stated: “On Saturday night at Wembley Arena, Anthony Joshua returns to British boxing after a lively exile in foreign lands and a year of talks, dates and flops.
“Joshua defends his heavyweight titles – he holds three versions – for the first time in his second reign against Bulgaria’s Kubrat Pulev, but once again the twinkling fake diamond belts are just tacky camouflage for the real prize of a planned unification fight with Tyson Fury.
“That fight has a storyline all of its own, a mix of fable, horror and comedy. However, if Joshua loses there is no story. The last time Joshua fought in Britain was under the arch at Wembley stadium on a wet night in September 2018, he retained his world title in style, ruining the Russian Alexander Povetkin in seven rounds of old-fashioned mayhem.
“Joshua was full of risks back then, fearless, a bit stupid in all the right ways that make heavyweights so attractive. Then it went wrong in June of last year at Madison Square Garden in New York; it was seven rounds again, Joshua was over four times and left truly vacant on his feet. His titles gone, his invincibility punctured by a smiling Mexican with a wobbly belly called Andy Ruiz.
“It was a painful journey of rediscovery, especially for a fighter with no fear. It is a hard thing for boxers to discover that they can lose so violently and can get hurt and dropped and stopped. All jokes about Ruiz being the buffet champion added to the sour experience.
“There was redemption in December of last year when Ruiz arrived ten pounds heavier, weighed down with extra gold chains and diamonds and with no fire in his giant belly. The new Joshua boxed a perfect shut-out, no risk, few thrills and then he had his belts back.
“Earlier this year there was bold talk of fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the same stadium and ring used by Muhammad Ali in 1974 to perform magic when he stopped the world and knocked out George Foreman.
“It was not a hoax, there was an offer, a serious offer to fill that ancient ring of fighting ghosts. This Saturday in front of 1,000 lucky souls – tickets priced between £100 and £1,000 sold in minutes – he will get exactly what he needs against Pulev.
“They were meant to fight in October 2017 before Pulev withdrew ten days before the first bell. It’s a pity that fight stalled because Pulev then was a real danger, a bit fresher and Joshua was far more naive. And so, on Saturday night, the heavyweight soap opera will continue in a London ring.
“(It will be) with a distant bounty of gold glowing like a tantalising mirage in an exotic location. Remember, nothing is ever simple in the heavyweight business and Joshua, after Ruiz, has intimate knowledge of what can go wrong in a fight you are not meant to lose.”
Anthony Joshua