Anthony Joshua Vs. Kubrat Pulev: Odds, Records, Prediction

In the span of six months last year, Anthony Joshua went from having the worst moments of his career to obtaining his moment of resurrection. On Saturday, he’ll try to continue that momentum when he defends his belts against a well-respected former title challenger doesn’t have a great chance to win. Here’s everything you need to know about Anthony Joshua vs. Kubrat Pulev, including the odds, their records and a prediction on who will win.

From June 2019, when Joshua lost his heavyweight championship by getting knocked out by Andy Ruiz in one of the biggest boxing upsets in history to their rematch last December when Joshua boxed his way to a careful victory against a woefully out-of-shape Ruiz, the popular British heavyweight has had quite a ride.

“The pressure that I went through last year was tough, but it made me mentally stronger. I grew a thicker skin. I’ve always been tough and wanted to fight the best, that’s never been an issue,” Joshua said. “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 take on big challenges. This is just another one I’m looking forward to competing with.”

Though Pulev potentially is dangerous, it’s also hard for observers not to look ahead to 2021 when Joshua could take on Tyson Fury in what would be the biggest fight in British boxing history. But if Friday’s weigh-in was any indication, Joshua and Pulev are focused completely on each other.

“This is what he’s trained for his entire life,” Ibn Cason, Pulev’s trainer, said. “This is a big opportunity. It’s a trying time in the world right now and he [Kubrat] has a chance to take people’s minds off it and take the victory.”

It certainly won’t be easy, though.

Here’s more info on the Anthony Joshua vs. Kubrat Pulev showdown that U.S. viewers can watch on DAZN beginning at 5 p.m. ET. U.K. fans can watch the matchup on Sky Sports Box Office for £24.95.

Anthony Joshua Vs. Kubrat Pulev odds

Heading into Saturday’s fight, Joshua is a -1000 favorite, meaning you’d have to wager $1,000 to win $100. Pulev, meanwhile, is +600 (win $600 on a $100 bet). Ever since the fight was announced until only a few days ago, Joshua was -1200, so that money line has tightened slightly. For me, I’d look at the prop bets, and I’d probably take my chances with a Joshua KO in either rounds 7-9 at +333 or rounds 7-12 at +200.

If you were looking for a fun parlay for this weekend’s action of boxing (and this is only my opinion and not a recommendation), I might take Joshua with the KO victory at -300, Chris Colbert to win by decision against Jaime Arboleda on Showtime at -125, and Shakur Stevenson to go under 8.5 rounds vs. Toka Kahn Clary on ESPN at +105. Win all three of those wagers, and you’d walk away with nearly $400 on a $100 bet.

Anthony Joshua Vs. Kubrat Pulev records

Before the first Ruiz fight, Joshua had built up an impressive record by beating the likes of Wladimir Klitschko, Joseph Parker, Alexander Povetkin and Dillian Whyte. Now that he’s gotten his revenge on Ruiz, Joshua can go back to claiming that he’s beaten every man he’s faced. His record is 23-1 with 21 KOs.

Pulev has been a professional for 11 years, and, like Joshua, he’s only lost once. That was to Klitschko in 2014 when Pulev made his first challenge for the unified heavyweight titles. Since then, though, Pulev (28-1, 14 KOs) has gotten past Derek Chisora, Samuel Peter and Hughie Fury. In reality Pulev hasn’t faced somebody the quality of Klitschko since his loss. Joshua, however, is on the same level as Klitschko. Which is probably a big reason why Pulev is such a big underdog.

Anthony Joshua Vs. Kubrat Pulev prediction

For as good as Joshua looked against Ruiz in their second fight, there’s little doubt he was more tentative and cautious than the heavyweight destroyer people have come to expect from him. Will Joshua act the same way vs. Pulev, who historically hasn’t shown the same kind of power that Ruiz did? Maybe for the first few rounds, Joshua will look to jab and box from the outside. But by the middle rounds, he’ll feel more comfortable and eventually will stop Pulev. Say, Joshua by TKO in the ninth round.

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