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Nick Parkinson
Reigning IBF, WBO and WBA heavyweight world titlist Anthony Joshua defends his belts against Kubrat Pulev on Saturday in front of about 1,000 fans at The SSE Arena in London.
Joshua-Pulev was originally planned for June, but because of the coronavirus pandemic, it was rescheduled with the hopes of having fans in attendance.
Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) defeated Andy Ruiz Jr. by unanimous decision in a rematch on Dec. 7, 2019, to regain the three titles. Pulev (28-1, 14 KOs) hasn’t fought since a unanimous-decision victory over Rydell Booker in November 2019.
In the co-main event, Lawrence Okolie takes on Nikodem Jezewski in a 12-round cruiserweight battle of unbeaten fighters. Okolie (14-0, 11 KOs) has won his past four fights by stoppage, including a seventh-round TKO of Yves Ngabu on the Josh Taylor-Regis Prograis undercard at the World Boxing Super Series junior welterweight finals in October 2019. Okolie was supposed to face Krzysztof Glowacki for the vacant WBO title, but Glowacki tested positive for COVID-19 and was replaced by Jezewski (19-0-1, 9 KOs).
Also on the card, Hughie Fury faces Mariusz Wach in a 10-round heavyweight bout. Hughie (24-3, 14 KOs) is heavyweight champion Tyson Fury’s cousin. Hughie, who lost a decision to Pulev in 2018, is 3-1 since then, all three victories by stoppage. Wach (36-6, 19 KOs) challenged Wladimir Klitschko for the heavyweight championship in 2012 but lost in a unanimous decision.
Stay here for live undercard results and analysis.
Fight in progress: Martin Bakole vs. Sergey Kuzmin, 10 rounds, heavyweights
Still to come:
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Title fight: Anthony Joshua vs. Kubrat Pulev, 12 rounds, for Joshua’s WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles
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Lawrence Okolie vs. Nikodem Jezewski, 12 rounds, cruiserweights
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Hughie Fury vs. Mariusz Wach, 10 rounds, heavyweights