Anthony Joshua vs Kubrat Pulev Tips: Betting Preview & Prediction

This Saturday the British heavyweight superstar Anthony Joshua returns to the ring, in front of 1,000 fans at the Wembley Arena. With all the boxing world crying out for Anthony Joshua against Tyson Fury in 2021, AJ needs to take care of a rugged and awkward mandatory challenger in Kubrat Pulev.

AJ’s best price to win is 1/8 and is as short as 1/14 in some places whilst Pulev is around the 7/1 mark. At 39 years old Pulev is certainly past his best, but he’s a decent operator with a good amateur pedigree and a stellar record of 28-1 with his one loss coming to a prime Wladimir Klitschko back in 2014. If AJ has overlooked this fight in any way, it could be a tough night’s work for the champion.

However, whilst Pulev shouldn’t be underestimated, it is hard to see him winning the fight if Joshua turns up anywhere near his best. The Bulgarian has plenty of experience and skill but he may struggle to make a dent on AJ – his knockout % for a heavyweight is relatively low at 48% and he’s gone the distance with some unimpressive opposition in recent years (Rydell Booker, Kevin Johnson and George Arias). This suggests he could lack the firepower at 39 to really cause AJ too many problems. Add to that that he is the away fighter, he’s smaller and probably somewhat slower in terms of footwork and hand speed, it’s hard to see him ever winning over the course of 12 rounds.

Therefore, when betting on this fight it’s sensible to steer well clear of the underdog and keep it simple and back the favourite. Despite AJ’s short outright price there is still potentially value to be had. Most of the bookies are favouring Joshua to get the job done in the first half of the fight. AJ to stop Pulev in rounds 1-6 is best price 8/5 whilst rounds 7-12 is 9/4. There is a bit of value in the 8/5 for AJ to win in rounds 1-6 as some bookies are as short as 6/5 for the same market. However, Pulev’s skill and experience should see him through the early rounds: when he fought Klitschko he adopted the unexpected tactics of boxing upright on his backfoot and had some success and even hurt Wladimir Klitschko early on in their fight. He has a good jab and is not afraid to come in close, hold and spoil when necessary. For these reasons, backing Joshua to stop Pulev in the middle or even later rounds presents a little more value. Anthony Joshua to win in rounds 5-8 is 2/1 which looks a pretty solid bet. Pulev will have done very well to get past the 8th but should have enough about him to see out the earlier rounds.