By Tim Parsons-
Anthony Joshua has vowed to be the last man standing for his world title fight against Kubrat Pulev will end with “the last man standing” as he made a brutal prediction at the final press conference.
The WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight title holder takes on Pulev this Saturday, live on Sky Sports Box Office, in a mandatory defence of his titles.
Pulev loudly declared himself as the “new champion”, after an intense face off, but Joshua knows he cannot afford to let those belt slip away so soon after regaining them from Andy Ruiz Jnr. Joshua is an overwhelming favourite to win, but Pulev cannot be written off so easily, having only lost to Wladimir Klitschko.
“I’ve been punched by the strongest people many times and I’m still here today,” said Joshua.
“That never changed me, so when I took a little loss to Ruiz, I don’t think that’s enough to change someone like me. I’ve got a lot of character. Every fighter trains hard, but it’s the character that separates us, and I feel like I’ve got a lot of character. I’ll be keen to stand there.
“I’m definitely going to get hit and he’s going to get hit as well, so it will be the last man standing.”
“The pressure I went through last year was tough, but it made me stronger, mentally,” said Joshua.
“I grew a thicker skin, and I’ve always been tough. Always wanted to fight the best. That’s never been an issue.
“What have I got to lose? I’ve got everything to gain. I want to be successful in boxing, and the only way to be successful is taking on good challengers and this is another one that I’m looking forward to competing with.
Joshua will earn a cool £10million prize pot from his heavyweight world title defence against Kubrat Pulev, despite the limited number of 1,000 due to the coronavirus restrictions as part of the new regional tier system.
Injury forced Pulev out of a fight with Joshua for the first defence of his IBF belt in 2017, after Joshua beat Charles Martin easily in 2 rounds. Pulev gets his chance to become world champion this Saturday, but Joshua cannot afford to allow him ruin his big date with Tyson Fury for 2021.