Anthony Joshua Beats Kubrat Pulev Via 9th-Round Knockout in Dominant Effort

Anthony Joshua turned in a dominant performance in his first fight in a little more than a year, sending challenger Kubrat Pulev to the canvas four times on his way to a ninth-round knockout win at the Wembley Arena in London on Saturday. 

The unified heavyweight champion was in control from start to finish, scoring two knockdowns in the third round and another two in the ninth. The right-handed punch that capped off the night was a thing of beauty. Here's a look, per DAZN:

Soccer commentator Ian Darke praised the 31-year-old Englishman's performance:

Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs) retained his WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts with the victory and moves closer to a potential superfight with the WBC champion Tyson Fury in 2021, although he may have to fight a mandatory challenger in Oleksandr Usyk first.

After the bout, both Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn acknowledged the interest in fighting Fury, with Hearn saying "it's the biggest fight, it has to be made", per the DAZN broadcast.  

Andrew Couldridge/Associated Press

In contrast to the fireworks finish, neither fighter offered much to start the match. Pulev (28-2, 14 KOs) was twitchy and kept his guard high, casting out the occasional jab and clinching when he got into an uncomfortable spot. Joshua seemed content to stay in front and flick the jab, but the right hand remained almost motionless, stuck next to his right cheek.

As soon as he found his opening in the middle of the third, Pulev was in big trouble. Joshua found a gap in the third, slipping away from a jab and returning fire with a powerful right hand to the jaw. Joshua pounced on the opportunity, and clobbered the Bulgarian on the ropes until he was forced to turn his back and the referee gave him a standing count. 

Just seconds later, a beautiful uppercut from Joshua sent Pulev tumbling backward onto the canvas. The bell and a few big whiffs on the right hook from Joshua saved the challenger from a third-round exit.

Here's the second knockdown, per DAZN:

Ring's Ryan Songalia felt the fight could have been stopped on that first knockdown:

The referee's decision to not call the fight early gave Pulev new life, and while he didn't do much to scare Joshua, he showed off his toughness. He managed to mount a few attacks in the middle rounds, but they failed to do damage more often than not (he did land plenty of rabbit punches, which the referee failed to stop him from attempting).

Joshua remained patient, controlling the distance with his jab, using his head movement and capitalizing on Pulev's mistakes. However, SB Nation's Connor Busch felt his control over the fight started to wane in the sixth round:

After Pulev showed some great spirit in the eighth round, it appeared Joshua had finally had enough of him. A series of uppercuts and that great right hand finally crumbled the 39-year-old Pulev's granite chin, and Joshua had the big win he needed.

Joshua was never in any real danger in the fight and got the win, but it may be considered a mixed performance by some because it took him a bit long to finish the job against a 39-year-old mandatory challenger. When he did finally find the KO punch, it was undeniably impressive.

Just two fights removed from his shocking upset loss to Andy Ruiz, Joshua has shown he can keep his composure in the ring and remain calm waiting for his chances to strike. Those qualities will serve him well down the line if he can line up fights with the likes of Usyk and Fury.