Kubrat Pulev is mad as hell. Annoyed over the way Anthony Joshua, and Eddie Hearn, is talking about the possibility of swerving him and going into a massive fight with Tyson Fury, Pulev has insisted he will not go away; that he WILL get his mandated shot at Joshua and that he will beat him – “brutally.”
Speaking with Sky Sports, the once-beaten Bulgarian said “it is written in the stars” for him to get his fight with Joshua and to win it. Pulev said he is a “much smarter boxer” than Joshua, who he has labelled a “coward” for demanding that their fight takes place in London.
“I’m way more precise than him as well as a much smarter boxer. And I will beat him. Brutally,” Pulev said of Joshua. “Why should it be in London? I think it’s obvious – because he’s afraid. Why the fight can’t take place in any other place? You answer this! Picking a certain destination is for cowards. For those who prefer to talk rather than act. He can’t face Fury because he has signed a contract to fight me. In the meantime, Fury has a contract for a third fight with Deontay Wilder. Neither me, nor Wilder will give up on these fights. No matter how much Eddie Hearn tries to manoeuvre things and play his little games, I will come up against Joshua and I will beat him. It’s written in the stars.”
There has been talk that a Fury-Joshua mega-fight could happen this December, maybe in Saudi Arabia, yet Pulev sounds as firm as can be that he will not let this happen. If it did, Joshua would almost certainly be stripped of his IBF belt. Perhaps this is what will actually happen, but nobody really wants to see that. What’s fair is fair: Pulev, 28-1(14) has earned his shot at the IBF heavyweight title and he should get the chance to fight Joshua in a bid to win it.
There is plenty of time next year for the Fury-Joshua blockbuster to take place. But can Joshua defeat Pulev? “The Cobra,” who turned 39 yesterday, does seem to be pretty angry right about now.
