Anthony Joshua Retains Heavyweight Titles After Winning Match Against Kubrat Pulev
Anthony Joshua on Saturday December 12 brutally knocked his boxing challenger Kubrat Pulev out in the ninth round of their world heavyweight championship fight at The SSE Arena at Wembley in London.
According to Sky News, the British fighter floored the tough Bulgarian heavily on three occasions, twice in the final round, and ended the fight with a vicious right hand to retain his IBF, WBA and WBO titles.
Joshua quickly left the ring to embrace boxing legend Floyd Mayweather at ringside who he also struck a pose with for social media. Ahead of the bout, Mayweather had called Joshua a “hell of a fighter and a gentleman”.
Speaking after his win, Joshua told reporters: “I hope everyone was satisfied tonight. For me, I stuck to what I know best, boxing. You ask the crowd what they want to see!”
It was Joshua’s first fight in the UK for two years and sets the stage for him to face fellow Briton Tyson Fury in 2021. The two men hold all the heavyweight titles after Fury claimed the WBC belt with a stoppage over Deontay Wilder in February.
🤜🏾🤛🏾 @FloydMayweather pic.twitter.com/T6zzcXSZu7
— Anthony Joshua (@anthonyfjoshua) December 13, 2020
Thanks for coming 💥 pic.twitter.com/zvDVXPNLwK
— Anthony Joshua (@anthonyfjoshua) December 13, 2020
Cooked a cobra 💤 pic.twitter.com/Ipa5Zjcb9l
— Anthony Joshua (@anthonyfjoshua) December 13, 2020
As he’s being celebrated online, President Muhammadu Buhari has also expressed pleasure in the victory. In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, President Buhari said Joshua had done Nigeria proud, just as he had served boxing enthusiasts globally an evening of pleasure through his Saturday night victory.
“President Muhammadu Buhari celebrates the decisive victory of Nigerian-born boxer, Anthony Joshua over Kubrat Pulev Saturday night,” it read. “The President said by retaining his IBF, WBA, and WBO titles, Joshua has given boxing lovers around the world, and particularly in Nigeria, something to cheer.”
“He recalls his meeting with the heavyweight champion in London earlier in the year, describing Anthony Joshua as a humble, well brought up young man, ‘who will still go places’,” the statement added.
Similarly, President of the Senate, Senator Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan, has also heaped praises on Joshua. Lawan expressed happiness at Joshua’s victory adding that Nigerians will continue to throw their weight behind him.
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