Britain’s Anthony Joshua delivered a spectacular right-hand knockout to finish off Bulgarian veteran Kubrat Pulev in the ninth round at London’s Wembley Arena.
Joshua dominated, knocking Pulev down at least four times during their fight.
The win sees Joshua retain his IBF, WBA and WBO titles and is now expected to take on Tyson Fury in 2021.
The much-anticipated clash with Fury is expected to take place in 2021.
Anthony Joshua said he is determined to beat Fury to win the world heavyweight unification bout. This he said while expressing confidence in his boxing ability.
The Nigerian-British fighter added, “Whoever has got the belt, I want the belt. If that is Tyson Fury, let it be!”
When asked about Saturday’s match, he said, “Less talk, more action. I hope everyone was satisfied tonight.
“For me, I stuck to what I know best, boxing. You ask the crowd what they want to see!”
Joshua could have outclassed Pulev, who had lost just once previously in his career to Wladimir Klitschko in 2014, in the third rounds.
Joshua gave his opponent three successive uppercuts in the ninth round to take his career record to 24-1.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn also confirmed that Fury is Joshua’s next target.
He said, “Starting from tomorrow, we make the Tyson Fury fight straight away. We know what we have to do. We know what we want to do.
“It’s about legacy.”
Joshua floored Pulev heavily on three occasions, twice in the final round, and ended the fight with a vicious right hand to retain his IBF, WBA and WBO titles.
The explosive performance from Joshua would have demanded the attention of Tyson Fury – they remain on a collision course to decide an undisputed champion in 2021.
Undefeated WBC champion Fury holds the only major belt outside of Joshua’s grip and a meeting between them would be the biggest match in world boxing – after delivering this thrilling knockout in front of a crowd of 1,000 people plus boxing great Floyd Mayweather, Joshua moved a step closer to making it a reality.
