Anthony Joshua knocks out Kubrat Pulev in 9th round to retain heavyweight titles

Anthony Joshua took care of business in London Saturday evening and will now prepare for bigger things. Joshua knocked out Pulev in the ninth round of their heavyweight championship bout to retain his four belts. He put Pulev down twice in the third before finishing it off late.

Here’s video of the knockout blow.

Joshua entered the fight a sizable favorite, closing at -1000 to win in the two-way market. A Joshua win by KO, TKO or DQ sat at -305 and the largest percentage of money winning method was on Joshua ending this fight early.

The next step for Joshua will be decided in short order. He’s currently the No. 2 man in the division behind Tyson Fury. While Joshua holds the IBF, WBA, WBO, and IBO titles, Fury is the WBC and Ring champion.

While Fury vs. Joshua is the fight people want, our friends at Bad Left Hook noted that Joshua has a WBO mandatory fight due against Oleksandr Usyk. That could happen next spring if the WBO orders it and Joshua elects to not give up the belt. If that’s the case, a fight with Fury could end up in the cards for later next fall at the earliest.