Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev face off in Cardiff

Kubrat Pulev

UNIFIED world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua faced off with his next challenger, Bulgariaโ€™s Kubrat Pulev at the Principality stadium in Cardiff, where the two will fight in front of almost 80,000 fans for the IBF and WBA titles on October 28.

There will be two more world title fights on the bill, with Kal Yafai due to defend his WBA super-flyweight belt against Japanโ€™s Sho Ishida. Irish Olympic gold medallist Katie Taylor will box for her first professional world title on the card, challenging Anahi Sanchez for the WBA lightweight title.

This occasion marks Joshuaโ€™s first defence of the unified world title after the Britonโ€™s thrilling victory over Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley stadium in April.

โ€œIโ€™m looking forward to getting back in the ring,โ€ Joshua said. โ€œNow I can show what I learned from my last fight.โ€

โ€œItโ€™s about finesse,โ€ he added. โ€œItโ€™s about outclassing your opponents. But if I need to go to war, I can go to warโ€ฆ I just look for the win one way or another.

โ€œSometimes you can watch a million videos of your opponent and prepare for something but itโ€™s always different when you step in the ring.

โ€œI have to be prepared for the toughest challenges moving forward.โ€

anthony joshua
Boxing – Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev Press Conference – Cardiff, Britain – September 11, 2017 Anthony Joshua during the press conference Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge

Joshua begins sparring this week. โ€œWeโ€™ll leave no stone unturned,โ€ trainer Rob McCracken insisted. โ€œHeโ€™ll put in a fantastic performance against an excellent challenger in Kubrat Pulev.โ€

The champion is determined to defend his titles and continuing to satisfy his mandatory obligations. โ€œWe arenโ€™t ducking, weโ€™re fighting back. We want to keep these belts,โ€ Joshua said. โ€œEach challenge that presents itself is another hurdle.โ€

โ€œItโ€™s no problem to get energised once again. We havenโ€™t taken our foot off the gas since 2008,โ€ Joshua concluded. โ€œWeโ€™ve got a long time to keep on achieving these type of things.โ€

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