World heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is insisting that he has eradicated past mistakes and now has a “warrior mindset” as the clock ticks towards a fight with Kubrat Pulev.
The Nigerian born British Joshua puts his IBF, WBA and WBO titles on the line against Pulev on Saturday and comes a year after avenging his shock loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. He believes he has evolved since then, and Pulev will find out the hard way.
“Sometimes when things are going well you keep working on your strengths,” Joshua said.
“What people call weaknesses, I call strengths that I haven’t identified yet. I saw the strengths I hadn’t identified – what [other people] call weaknesses. I enhanced them, improved them.
“Now there aren’t any chinks in my armour. I’ve worked a lot on honing my craft. This will be a tough fight but I need to retain my belts. I have a warrior mindset.
“In my mind, nothing else is important apart from Pulev. That is my focus,” Joshua told Sky news.
A fight against WBC champion Tyson Fury for the undisputed championship looms in 2021 if Joshua can dispatch Pulev on Saturday.
Both Joshua and Pulev looked lean and fit at Wednesday evening’s workouts – the challenger shadow-boxed for several minutes but the champion went through a far more ominous routine.
Joshua spent upwards of 20 minutes wrapping his hands in the most professional manner despite it only being for a public workout – that is a trick he learned from Wladimir Klitschko, the long-standing former champion, and something he has recently added to his own preparation.
He then insisted cameras were switched off and everybody except his training team left the room before going through one of his final workouts before he trades punches with Pulev.
Pulev said: “Saturday is the most important day of my life. I trained since I was 12, I became a champion in Bulgaria when I was 14.
“This is my dream, this was the dream of my father.
“Knockout? I just need this win. I want to do it for my father, for my country, for Bulgarian sport. Not just for me.
“I am ready. I know this is my time. I wanted this fight, I waited a long time for it.”
Meanwhile AJ’s Promoter, Eddie Hearn says he is “as close to 100%” as he can be that Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will fight in 2021, if Joshua beats Kubrat Pulev on Saturday.
Joshua defends his IBF, WBA and WBO belts at Wembley Arena against Bulgarian Pulev.
A win could lead to him facing WBC champion Fury, the first time all four heavyweight titles would be contested.
Hearn, said he wants most details for the fight confirmed by the weekend.
“I am as close to 100% as I can be that the Fury fight will happen if AJ wins on Saturday,” he said.
Saturday’s bout with Pulev is 31-year-old Joshua’s first fight since winning a rematch against Andy Ruiz Jr on a unanimous point decision 12 months ago.
“All we’ve got to do is win and I don’t know if that is why AJ is a bit edgy,” Hearn added.
“Is he trying to make himself edgy to make sure he is switched on in the fight? Maybe against Ruiz in the first fight he wasn’t edgy but I think he has really invested his time in improving since that Ruiz fight and he really wants to show those improvements.”
Fury had been due to fight on 5 December but plans were abandoned and he will now not return to the ring until 2021.
Hearn hopes the 32-year-old’s next fight will be against Joshua, who would likely face Oleksandr Usyk, the mandatory challenger for the WBO title, if Fury arranges a warm-up bout.
“I’ve mentioned it to their team. If Tyson has a warm-up fight, we’ll fight Usyk and then everything gets… there is no reason for a warm-up fight,” said Hearn, who has invited Fury to Saturday’s fight.
“He boxed in February and he does not have the style where he needs a warm-up fight. It will be straight in and I think he is happy with that.”
