IBF/WBA heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev met for the first time at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales – venue for their October 28 contest.
It was a calm meet with both pugilists respectful and shared smiles accompanied with an unplanned handshake in the President’s Lounge in front of the assembled media to officially announce their heavyweight tussle.
“I can tell you he’s more determined than ever to go on creating history and defend these titles against all comers, mandatory’s, unifications. What a great fight he has against Kubrat Pulev here on October 28th which is likely to house just under 80,000.” – Matchroom Sports Managing Director Eddie Hearn
Succinct details on both fighters:
Joshua – Started at 18 years of age – at 19 he won the ABA championships – at 21, he won silver at the World Championships which was shortly accompanied by a gold medal won at the London 2012 Olympics – at 23, he turned professional – at 25, he won the Commonwealth title – at 26, he won the IBF world title and at 27 he unified the division in front of 90,000 people at Wembley.
Pulev – (25-1, 13 KOs), The Bulgarian fought at five World Championships throughout the 2000s. He represented his country at the Olympics in 2008. He won gold at the 2008 European Championships in Liverpool. He turned professional in late 2009. Currently No. 3 with the WBC, No. 7 with the WBA, No. 3 with the WBO and the No. 1 challenger, the mandatory for the IBF and No. 3 with the Bible of Boxing, THE RING Magazine.
Tickets for the event are priced at £40, £60, £80, £100, £200, £300 and £500 – with VIP tickets priced at £1500.
A reminder that it has been nearly a decade since the stadium was the venue for a boxing match, when it hosted the Joe Calzaghe-Mikkel Kessler super middleweight unification. Also, the principality was chosen as venue for the all-British heavyweight title fight between Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno in 1993.
