Anthony Joshua vs. Raphael Zumbano Love: Fight Time, Live Stream and TV Info

Anthony Joshua takes on Raphael Zumbano Love on Saturday in the first of two scheduled fights for the British heavyweight in the month of May.

The 2012 Olympic gold-medal winner steps between the ropes at the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham looking to extend his perfect record to 12-0. He has not yet been beyond the third round as a professional.

He had to bide his time at the start of the year due to a stress fracture in his back but returned to action in Newcastle in April, seeing off American Jason Gavern with relative ease.

Now Love—the reigning South American champion—is the next foe for the Londoner. The Brazilian (36-10-1, 29 KO) could be seen as an appetiser ahead of the main course that is to follow.

Joshua is already booked to face American Kevin "Kingpin" Johnson on May 30. That bout will occur in London on the undercard to the world title clash between Kell Brook and Frankie Gavin.

As for the rest of the Matchroom bill this week, Callum Smith makes his return from injury against Olegs Fedotovs, Luke Campbell faces Aboubeker Bechelaghem and Matthew Macklin is involved in an eight-rounder. The talented Yafai brothers, Gemal and Khalid, are also in action.

When: Saturday, May 9 at 10 p.m. BST

Where: Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, England

TV: Sky Sports

Live Stream: Sky Sports (regional restrictions apply)

Keeping busy

Nigel Roddis/Getty Images

Despite only being 25, Joshua is not interested in making slow and steady progress through the division.

After the frustration of the back problem that kept him out of action at the start of the year, he is looking to remain busy for the rest of 2015, as he explained to Matchroom Boxing:

"

There's pressure on every fight so I just take it all in my stride as right now I am a prospect with nothing to defend. Early on in your career you rack them up one after the other. I’m not taking shots, I'm not going past three rounds and my hands aren't hurt, so we're fighting a lot.

If I was in a slugfest or had a tough fight, we'd look at rest because that is important, but I am not at the moment. I have Saturday and May 30, and I'd like to think that I would have four more fights in 2015 – but you have to take things on a fight by fight basis.

"

Joshua and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, have taken something of a gamble putting him in against Love.

It would only take a lucky shot, or even a nasty cut, to ruin the carefully laid plans set out for the future.

The bout with Johnson—who once took Vitali Klitschko the distance and stretched Tyson Fury the full 12 rounds—will be the biggest test of Joshua's career.

Before then, however, he has to remain focused on the job in hand.

South American flair

Zumbano Love was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, but is now based in Las Vegas.

His knockout percentage suggests he could be a lively opponent for Joshua, but delve a little deeper into his record and it becomes clear that this matchup is all about levels.

That is not to say Joshua has fought tougher fights, more that he is seen as a man on the rise. The same cannot be said of Love, who is 34 and has already suffered 10 defeats. 

Of his last 10 fights, five of them have seen him record victories inside two rounds.

The other five? All defeats, three of them on points. The other two losses came by way of stoppages inside the last two minutes of the final round.

He was well beaten on the scorecards last June by Shannon Briggs, a former world heavyweight champion who was 42 at the time.

There are no names of note among the list of Love's victims, but with an impressive ratio of stoppages, the 6′4″ heavyweight should not be underestimated entirely.

He has a puncher's chance of causing an upset, but little else will be in his favour once the first bell sounds.

Prediction

The timing of this fight suggests only one thing: Joshua will win—and without having to break much of a sweat in the process.

It is too close to the bout with Johnson (29-6, 14 KO) to think that Love is anything other than cannon fodder.

A loss seems unthinkable for Joshua at this stage of his career, and while he does need to be tested at some stage, his next opponent isn't good enough to be the one to push him.

Look for the home favourite to pad his record with another KO, and it shouldn't take him too long to achieve it. This looks to be little more than a televised sparring session minus the head guards.