Saturday, October 28th sees the return of WBA and IBF world heavyweight champion Anthnoy Joshua (19-0) as he faces the challenge of the once-beaten Kubrat Pulev (25-1). Perhaps the odds are a bit slanted in Joshua’s favor because the giant Brit is becoming a crossover star, but with the fight roughly a month out, Joshua is a runaway favorite paying at -3000.
Pulev is a solid veteran whose lone loss came to Wladimir Klitschko in his first world title shot. Since that loss back in November of 2014, Pulev has come back and won five fights in a row. In his last fight, Pulev defeated American veteran Kevin Johnson to defend his WBA intercontinental title and set up this bout with Joshua.
Pulev is a solid if unspectacular fighter and few are expecting him to breakthrough against Joshua. The fact is that Joshua is bigger, younger and stronger and if you bake in Joshua’s amateur pedigree that culminated in his Olympic Gold Medal, the champion is also the more sound technical fighter. Pulev has a long day ahead of him in Cardiff.
The fight really accenuates the business of boxing. Joshua is waiting for a big money fight and the most likely opponent for that fight in 2018 is WBC champion Deontay Wilder. Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn is returning to fight-hungry Cardiff with the world heavyweight champion so the event in and of itself becomes a big deal. The fighting public in Wales has seen Anthony only once and that was in a six round bout back in 2014. Joshua is breaking new ground, taking Cardiff’s 70,000 plus seat Principality Stadium and setting it up for boxing for the first time. Pulev is an afterthought as Joshua could have fought a hologram and made money.
Principality Stadium – Cardiff, Wales – Showtime
Heavyweight 12 rounds –
Kubrat Pulev +1500 o5½ +100
Anthony Joshua -3000 u5½ -120
The highly anticipated heavyweight match-up between WBC world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder and Luis Ortiz that was set to air on Showtime on November 4th from the Barclays Center is likely off due to a positive PED test on the part of Ortiz. The odds for the Wilder-Ortiz bout that were posted revealed a close, competitive bout:
Barclays Center – Brooklyn, New York
Heavyweight 12 rounds –
Luis Ortiz +185
Deontay Wilder -245
What is next for Deontay Wilder now remains to be seen. Wilder is still looking to line-up a lucrative payday and the biggest money fight available would be Wilder vs Anthony Joshua. With Joshua booked for October 28th Wilder will need to stay busy and that means Wilder will likely be forced to rematch Bermane Stiverne (25-2-1), the man he took the WBC belt from back in January of 2015.
