Anthony Joshua says he is ready for war when he takes on Kubrat Pulev in a world heavyweight title clash at Wembley’s SSE Arena on Saturday.
The Briton will be back in the ring for the first time in 12 months, since he outpointed Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia to claim back the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts he lost to the same opponent at Madison Square Garden in June 2019.
Read Also: Just In: Sanwo-Olu Tests Positive For COVID-19
A crowd of 1,000 will be in attendance following approval by local authorities and after London was placed in tier two of the new system when lockdown restrictions were relaxed by the Government last week.
Joshua entered a bio-secure bubble on Tuesday and told Sky Sports: “My body is just a vessel that carries my brain, so I have trained my brain more than I have trained my body. I am ready for war. I am ready for a fight and looking forward to it.”
He added: “It will be a special occasion to witness a world heavyweight champion fight amongst 1,000 people.
“Normally there would be tens of thousands of people in an arena, but there are a lucky 1,000 people in there, so hopefully they get to enjoy it.”
What is it? Joshua defends his WBA ‘super’, IBF and WBO belts against IBF mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev. The fight was originally scheduled for June but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
What date is Joshua vs Pulev? The fight is scheduled for Saturday, December 12.
What time is the fight? We expect the fight to start after 10pm GMT, dependent on the undercard round.
Where is the fight? SSE Wembley. It had been London’s O2 Arena, but was switched on December 2 due to ‘promoter logistics’. Up to 1,000 fans could be in attendance after London was moved into tier two restrictions. It will be Joshua’s first fight on home soil in almost two years. The fight had initially, before the O2 Arena, been scheduled due to take place at at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
What TV channel is Joshua vs Pulev on? Like all Joshua fights, DAZN Box Office have exclusive rights.
Who is Anthony Joshua fighting? The 39-year-old Bulgarian is Joshua’s mandatory IBF challenger, and a potential blockbuster fight against Tyson Fury depends on Joshua getting the better of him.
He held the European heavyweight title twice between 2012 and 2016, but has only challenged for a world title on one occasion: when he was defeated by Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 when he was knocked down three times en route to a fifth-round KO.
Pulev has won five consecutive fights since then however, most recently against American Kevin Johnson. 
What fights are on the undercard?
Full details of the undercard here
Lawrence Okolie v Nikodem Jezewski   – cruiserweight contest
Hughie Fury v Mariusz Wach – heavyweight contest
Martin Bakole v Sergey Kuzmin – WBC international heavyweight title
Qais Ashfaq v Ashley Lane – super-bantamweight contest
Florian Marku v Alex Fearon – welterweight contest
Souleymane Cissokho v Kieron Conway – super-welterweight contest
Photo Credit: Getty
