JOSHUA AND PULEV TRADE BARBS IN

MASKS AT WEIGH-IN

LONDON

Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and challenger Kubrat Pulev jawed at each other through black face masks Friday on the eve of their title fight at Wembley Arena.

Joshua pointed a finger in Pulev’s face as they exchanged words while beefy security guards kept the peace during their weigh-in for today’s bout.

During the exchange, Pulev twice readjusted his mask after it slipped below his nose, and Joshua’s mask also drooped low at one point.

The Bulgarian challenger will fight at his lightest weight — 2391⁄ pounds (1083⁄ kilo

2 4 grams) — in 11 years.

The 31-year-old Joshua will be lean as well after weighing in at 2403⁄ pounds (109

4 kilograms). That’s slightly heavier than his last fight but still the second-lightest he’s fought at in six years.

Pulev, 39, appears to be the only hurdle Joshua needs to clear before a shot at being the undisputed world heavyweight champion.

Joshua holds the WBA, IBF, WBO belts. An agreement in principle has been reached with Tyson Fury, the WBC champion, for a two-fight deal in 2021 to unify the titles in an all-British blockbuster.

First, Joshua must take care of business against the hardened Pulev, who didn’t wait for today to get things started. He yelled at Joshua even before the champion was able to weigh in.

Promoter Eddie Hearn relayed some of the face-to-face exchange:

“Pulev said, ‘You’re nothing. I’m better than you,’ ” Hearn said. “AJ said, ‘Who have you beaten?’ Pulev said, ‘I’ll end you.’ ”

Joshua has become used to selling out Britain’s biggest sports venues but only 1,000 fans will be allowed in Wembley Arena for his first home fight since knocking out Alexander Povetkin in September 2018.

The Briton last fought a year ago when he beat Imperial’s Andy Ruiz Jr. to reclaim his belts.