Anthony Joshua Admits Fighting Kubrat Pulev 3 Years Ago Would Have Been ‘Too Early’

Unified heavyweight titleholder Anthony Joshua will face Kubrat Pulev on December 12 in a 12-round main-event clash.

Had things fallen in place, the heavyweight matchup could have happened three years ago. However, Both Joshua and Pulev had walked different paths back then, until they finalized the bout in 2020.

That said, the contest could have looked different. Anthony Joshua was still unbeaten and Pulev was riding the title ladder rapidly. Thus, many claims it to be the perfect time for the heavyweight greats’ collision.

However, Joshua claims to have evolved with more experience, citing a better fight in their upcoming test. He has faced a defeat in the meantime and has avenged the loss in re-match. So, he might have taken some valuable lessons from it.

The unified champion connected with ESPN to compare the different timings and how his fight with Pulev could have looked.

Speaking about it, ‘AJ’ said, “I do think the older you get, the more experience you get. Get to know what you like, what you don’t like, how to spend your time. So, and I go back to the thing with Povetkin and Klitschko. 40s but they were still very active and experienced as we have seen in the latest fight, Joyce and Dubois. Experience is important.”

Anthony Joshua and the age turmoils

Joshua has faced several men who had more experience than him, and the Briton beat them in fashion. Two of the most notable men from the list are Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin.

Both the men had troubled him inside the ring. So Joshua understands the value of experience.

Speaking about his nearing bout, he said, “So Pulev, even if he is not fighting the biggest of punchers (in) his last few fights, but he has had a lot of experience at the right fights to get him here. And so for me as well, I feel it could have potentially been too early. But I couldn’t have said. Because I don’t know what would happen.”

However, ‘AJ’ also understands the difference in time and the challenges it brings. So he didn’t fail to mention Pulev’s abilities.

He continued, “But he is talented, he is good. He would have possessed a completely different type of challenge that I would have seen before in terms of his style. So, but now I really understand his style more and I understand the difficulties, I understand the capabilities of how to exploit them as well so.”

As we walk closer to the heavyweight thriller, it gets intense every day. Both the elites have their fair share of chances in winning. Who do you think will walk away with the last laugh on fight night?