Joshua ready for Pulev war

ANTHONY Joshua is ready for war when he takes on Kubrat Pulev in a world heavyweight title clash at Wembley’s SSE Arena on Saturday. The Briton will be back in the ring for the first time in 12 months, since he outpointed Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia to claim back the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts he lost to the same opponent at Madison Square Garden in June, 2019.

A crowd of 1,000 will be in attendance following approval by local authorities and after London was placed in tier two of the new system when lockdown restrictions were relaxed by the Government last week. Joshua entered a bio-secure bubble yesterday and told Sky Sports: “My body is just a vessel that carries my brain, so I have trained my brain more than I have trained my body.

“I am ready for war. I am ready for a fight and looking forward to it.”

While the build-up to Saturday’s showpiece event will be different compared to usual with both fighters in the same bubble and able to mix, Joshua stated he would focus on making everything as normal as possible

Even when the ring bell sounds at the SSE Arena there will be a big contrast to the surroundings compared to in Saudi Arabia. Joshua beat Ruiz Jr in a rematch last December at a 15,000-seater purpose-built arena and despite that number being small compared to some of the crowds he has fought in front of, the attendance will be even fewer on Saturday.

He insisted: “It is nice, it is nice for the fans as well because it will be intimate.

“It will be a special occasion to witness a world heavyweight champion fight amongst 1,000 people.”