IBF AND WBA HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT

ANTHONY JOSHUA swaggered into Cardiff claiming he will be a “failure” the day he loses his 100 per cent knockout record.

And the Watford Wallop insists he would prefer the risk of another tearup than play safe and leave it to the judges to sort out 12 rounds of “boring” pat-a-cake.

Joshua makes his first appearance since clubbing Wladimir Klitschko towards the rocking chair in a Wembley classic against Bulgarian veteran Kubrat Pulev, 36, at the Principality stadium on October 28.

The IBF, WBO and WBA heavyweight champion will be as proud to extend his 19-0 record, all of them inside the distance, as he was to meet football legend Pele at the GQ Men of the Year awards last week.

But when nearly 80,000 fans raise the Millennium Stadium roof, Joshua will be banking on a shorter night’s work than the epic drama of his battle with Klitschko. Joshua said: “I always want to knock people out – that’s the cherry on top. Nobody comes to a boxing match to watch a 12-round fight where nobody gets hit.

“Fights which go the distance are boring unless it’s a brawl.

“Would it be a failure if I didn’t knock him out? Yes it would – this is heavyweight boxing, you have to knock someone out. Maybe I cut it fine with Klitschko, but we had to get him out of there. That’s what made it so exciting – people thought it was going 12 rounds and the next minute he’s been knocked down.

“You can’t leave it to the judges – you have to make the decision yourself. This business is all about excitement, showing you are a force to be reckoned with and that your aura is intact.

“When people say, ‘This guy is tough, he’s never been knocked out before’ and you put him away in three rounds, it adds value.”

Joshua, 27, continues to radiate star quality – and one day, when he is in the same room as Brazilian football royalty, they could be global superstars on equal terms.

Pele, 76, won three World Cups, in 1958, 62 and 70, and Joshua said: “He still connects with everyone.

“I definitely want to be like Pele – everyone who met him the other night was in awe of him.”

Irish fighter Katie Taylor will challenge for a world title on the uncard of the Joshua-pulev fight.

The 2012 London gold medalist will take on two-weight world champion Anahi Sanchez for the WBA world lightweight crown.