Joshua vs Pulev: Anthony Joshua’s plans for heavyweight dominance were left in disarray by Kubrat Pulev

Anthony Joshua’s plans for heavyweight dominance were left in disarray by Kubrat Pulev, just a few months after his finest victory.

Britain’s unified champion had perfected his vicious tactics for Pulev three years ago, but they will finally fight on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Box Office, and Joshua can gain retribution for 12 nights of torment.

Blood had to be wiped from Joshua’s badly injured nose before he explained the ending of his world title win against Carlos Takam to over 75,000 fans at the Principality Stadium in October 2017.

It wasn’t supposed to be that way.

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Six months earlier, Joshua had declared himself as the division’s new ruler after pounding Wladimir Klitschko into submission at Wembley Stadium, and his destructive fists had been prepped with cruel intentions for Pulev.

But a casual conversation about the Bulgarian challenger had created the first ripples of concern in promoter Eddie Hearn.

“Someone said to me, ‘Just be careful whether this guy turns up.’ It was a very strange thing to say to me and it just made me click into gear, click into action and say, ‘I better just have someone standing by.’

“Thank the lord we did.”

Takam, the France-based heavyweight, was well known for dragging his rivals into crude encounters which tested the durability of bruised limbs, as well as refined boxing skills. He was a risky opponent, but always ready.

“I met with Eddie in early September,” recalled Christian Cherchi, who had promoted Takam.

“He was not so sure about Pulev and we decided to have Takam start training to be the substitute, or if not, he will fight on the undercard.”

Hearn had hoped that Takam could appear on a glitzy night in Monaco, a few weeks later, rather than trading fierce blows with his world champion on a raucous evening in Wales.

However, promoter Kalle Sauerland had to inform Pulev that his IBF mandatory title shot was off, less than a fortnight before fight night. A shoulder injury had ruined three years of restoration work following his solitary loss to Wladimir Klitschko.

“I remember exactly how I got the news. I was in London. I just walked into a hotel lobby for a meeting and I couldn’t cancel it.

“I’ve just got the call. I couldn’t say a word about it, of course.

“Then I spoke to Kubrat and he said, ‘I don’t agree with what the doctor is saying.’ I’m like, ‘Kubrat, it seems you’ve torn your shoulder, I don’t really know what there is [to do],’ and he was gutted.

“He had a long camp and I believe he went off and saw Rafael Nadal’s shoulder specialist in Spain afterwards. It was a horrible injury.

“He had rebuilt himself, done everything right and was in a good place. Those things happen in sport unfortunately and that’s what it is.”

Cherchi gave little thought to the initial message he received from Hearn about Takam.

“When Eddie texted me, I thought about the undercard fight.

“After five minutes, he called me and said ‘No, Pulev is off, Takam will fight with Joshua.'”

Frantic attempts to prepare Takam were hindered by the absence of his trainer, who was in Japan with another fighter.

“It was like in the middle of a storm,” said Cherchi. “We were amazed by the opportunity.

“It was in the middle of the night in Japan. We called an assistant and said ‘Go and wake up Joseph Germain.’

“He said ‘No, he’s sleeping’.

“I don’t care if he’s sleeping, go and wake him up.

“We spoke with him and said, ‘Listen, Pulev is injured, Takam will fight for the heavyweight championship. We will now book a new flight, you have to come back.'”

Joshua had prophetically acknowledged the threat of Takam, long before his first professional loss would be inflicted by Andy Ruiz Jr, another late replacement.

He had told Sky Sports: “In boxing, I think it’s a sport that’s unforgiving in the sense that, if Takam beats me, that loss will stay on my record for a lifetime. That will always be in my legacy.

“It’s not, ‘oh, he was a world champion and he’s done well for the sport of boxing. No, no, no he was 19-1 – that’s Anthony’s legacy,’ and I just don’t want that blemish on my record right now.”

Takam seemed almost bewildered by an impending battle for the WBA and IBF belts.

“I don’t know if I’m excited, stressed or confused but I’m definitely ready for the fight. It will be a proper fight,” Takam had told Sky Sports.

“AJ is a good boxer who likes to box and I like opponents who like to come forward and throw punches. I like to get stuck in as well.”

Takam did not have enough time to forge an elaborate game-plan, preferring instead to bludgeon Joshua with whatever part of his body was in striking distance.

A clash of heads left Joshua gasping for air in the second round, trying to control his breathing through a bloodied nose.

Takam received a gaping cut too over his right eye and he was sent to the canvas by a right hand from the predatory Joshua.

An uppercut staggered Takam in the sixth and a straight right hand sent him tottering to the ropes in the 10th, prompting the swift intervention of referee Phil Edwards.

Takam and the watching Cherchi were far from happy with the hasty timing of the stoppage, which was greeted by disapproval from the crowd.

“I don’t have control over the ref’s decision,” said Joshua. “It was a good fight until the ref stopped it. I have the upmost respect for Takam.

“Imagine if it’s broke [his nose] and I couldn’t breathe and he started catching up in the middle rounds? It would have been a disaster, so I kept my cool.”

Another potential crisis had been averted by Joshua, while for Pulev, ‘what if’ becomes ‘what now’, when that first bell rings at The SSE Arena in Wembley this weekend.

“Pulev is a brave fighter. He doesn’t care about Joshua’s reputation, he won’t be scared, and that is probably his biggest asset,” said Sauerland.

Hearn, on this occasion, has no fall back plan and just hopes Joshua can clear Pulev from his path, at last.

“This time around there is no replacement, but also there is a huge amount of money in the pot for Kubrat Pulev and there is a huge opportunity, so he will be there.

“But back then it was crazy times. To be honest with you, whilst AJ said he didn’t know what he was doing, probably we didn’t know what we were doing some of the time. You learn and you expand and you improve, and that’s what he’s done, we’ve done, and we’re a well-oiled machine together.

“We’re a great team and I truly believe he’s the best heavyweight in the world – and he’s going to continue to show that.”

Watch Joshua vs Pulev on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Box Office, from 6pm. Book it via your Sky remote or book it online here. Even if you aren’t a Sky TV subscriber, you can book and watch it here.

(c) Sky Sports 2020: Joshua vs Pulev: Anthony Joshua’s plans for heavyweight dominance were left in disarray by Kubrat Pulev