In the main event of the evening at Wembley IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs) scored 9th round KO victory over mandatory IBF challenger 39-year-old Kubrat Pulev (28-2, 14 KOs). For the first time in a long time in the UK about a thousand spectators were present at the fight.
In the third round, Pulev missed the right one to the head and got hurt. Joshua began to deliver blow after blow to the target and the shocked Pulev turned his back to the opponent and went into the corner. Instead of stopping the fight, the referee began counting the knockdown.
The end of the meeting came in the ninth round. Pulev missed a right uppercut to the jaw, got hurt and missed a few more uppercuts. Pulev fell on the floor, got up, but the very first right hand sent him to the floor for the good. The time was 2:58.
Immediately after the stoppage, Joshua went down to greet Floyd Mayweather, who was present at the fight.
In an interview after the fight, Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn spoke only about the fight in 2021 against WBC champion Tyson Fury, without a word mentioning the mandatory WBO challenger Alexander Usyk.
