Who Should Anthony Joshua Fight After Win vs. Kubrat Pulev?

Unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua defeated mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev on Saturday at The SSE Arena, Wembley in London.

The 31-year-old Brit retained his IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles by stopping the 39-year-old Bulgarian challenger with a ninth-round knockout.

Now that Joshua has added another win to his ledger, it's time to start wondering who the popular heavyweight champion will face next.

Bleacher Report compiled the five best opponent options for Joshua's next fight. Read through these potential matchups, and leave your own ideas in the comments.

Tyson Fury

Isaac Brekken/Associated Press

Should Joshua face The Gypsy King next?

A superfight for Anthony Joshua against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury would crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis accomplished the feat against Evander Holyfield in 1999.

Joshua and Fury are popular champs with huge followings, but both need to get the other in the ring as soon as possible. Fury, 32, has already solidified himself in history by usurping both ex-champs Wladimir Klitschko and Deontay Wilder. In addition to having one of the four titles offered by boxing's major sanctioning bodies, Fury is also considered the lineal heavyweight champion by most, including The Ring magazine and Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. So the undefeated Fury might actually need the fight a little less than Joshua.

Regardless, not since Lewis and Holyfield faced each other in back-to-back bouts over two decades ago has there been such an important battle in boxing's glamour division. Moreover, never in boxing history have both fighters hailed from England.

Joshua vs. Fury is the best and biggest fight that can happen in the sport.

Oleksandr Usyk

Associated Press

Does the former undisputed cruiserweight champ deserve next?

Boxing fails to deliver big fights so often that it makes sense to come up with a few other notable options for Anthony Joshua to consider, too.

As far as backup plans go, Joshua's next best fight probably involves the unified heavyweight champion welcoming former undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk into the elite levels of the heavyweight division.

While Usyk could probably use a few more fights in his new weight class before tackling the likes of Joshua, the truth of the matter is that Usyk is probably the best pure boxer in the division already.

The 33-year-old Ukrainian remains undefeated, and so far he looks just as crafty and hard to beat as a heavyweight fighter. Sure, the undefeated southpaw isn't able to stand and trade with Joshua and other top-shelf heavyweight opponents like he could in the cruiserweight division, but Usyk does possess the cleverness to give any heavyweight fighter trouble, including Joshua.

Deontay Wilder

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Does the recently defeated Bronze Bomber get next crack at Joshua?

It wouldn't be the same kind of massive superfight it could have been, but there is a reasonable argument to be made for Anthony Joshua facing former WBC champ Deontay Wilder should other options not be made available.

After all, late is better than never. While the two could have met in the past to fight for undisputed status, the truth is that Wilder is still an incredibly dangerous fighter who has only been bested by one man.

Moreover, where Tyson Fury demolished Wilder in the rematch last year, the first fight back in 2018 saw the American drop Fury to the canvas twice on the way to a 12-round split-draw.

So beating Wilder is no gimme fight for anyone, and Joshua could still make a big statement to the rest of the world by facing and defeating Wilder.

Besides, Wilder is one of the hardest punchers in boxing history. Joshua would likely be favored, but one good hit could change the fight at a moment's notice.

Andy Ruiz

Hassan Ammar/Associated Press

Does Andy Ruiz deserve another shot at the champ?

Worse fights could be made for Anthony Joshua than a third matchup against Andy Ruiz.

While Joshua soundly defeated an out-of-shape Ruiz last year to avenge the shocking knockout win Ruiz pulled off against Joshua in New York back in June 2019, Joshua and Ruiz still have unfinished business.

Knotted 1-1, a third fight is probably on the way regardless. While one might assume Ruiz needs to pick up at least one more notable win before it happens (if anything, just to show he can get back to top form), another way to look at it is that Joshua still needs to prove it was Ruiz's win against him that was the fluke.

Joshua vs. Ruiz III isn't the best option on the table, but it's an easy sell to make if those other options happen to fall through.

On top of that, Ruiz already proved he has the ability to defeat Joshua. Now, all the American would need to do is come up with the same kind of effort again.

Mike Tyson

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Joshua vs. Iron Mike?

No, I'm not saying Joshua should legitimately defend his unified heavyweight titles against a 54-year-old Mike Tyson next.

Instead, what I'm suggesting is that if so many serious fights fall through with Joshua's other important heavyweight showdowns, maybe the fighter should go ahead and gauge how interested the "Baddest Man on the Planet" is in an exhibition showdown.

It wouldn't be a legit prizefight, but it might be fun for people to see Joshua going through the motions in a boxing ring with Tyson. On top of that, it would be a relatively easy way for both popular champs to make some money while they wait for whatever comes next.

Besides, can you imagine the debates it might spark between old and young fans? Tyson vs. A.J.? Yesterday vs. today? Who wins?

The exhibition bout wouldn't tell us, but it would help us imagine the real thing the same way Tyson's draw with Roy Jones Jr. did last month.