Fury awaits as Joshua KOs Pulev to retain belts

By rediscovering the thrill of a brutal knockout, Anthony Joshua cleared the way to a shot at being the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

With a big right hand that sent Kubrat Pulev, a durable but one-dimensional Bulgarian, to the canvas for a third and final time, Joshua secured a dominant ninth-round win in his U.K. homecoming on Saturday to retain the WBA, WBO and IBF belts.

It wasn’t long before the inevitable question was thrown at him: is WBC champion Tyson Fury next in what would be an all-British blockbuster to unify the four titles in boxing’s marquee division? “Whoever has got the belt, I’d love to compete with them,” Joshua said. “If that is Tyson Fury, let it be Tyson Fury.”

If that felt a slightly non-committal response — and it was taken that way by Fury in a video message he released moments later — Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, left no room for debate. “We know what we have to do starting from tomorrow: to make the Tyson Fury fight straightaway,” Hearn said, a big grin on his face.

Verstappen takes stunning pole

YASISLAND,ABUDHABI» Red Bull driver Max Verstappen produced a stunning last lap and beat both Mercedes cars to take pole position for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He was .025 seconds ahead of Valtteri Bottas and .086 clear of world champion Lewis Hamilton for his first pole of the season and third of his career.

Bottas led Verstappen and Hamilton after their first attempts, and Hamilton then appeared on course for a record-extending 99th career pole as he led the split times on their second and final attempts.