Former Rival Says Anthony Joshua Is Nothing Special, Justifies His Loss Against the Brit

Anthony Joshua isn’t done facing criticism for his recent defeat against Oleksandr Usyk in London. Having lost his heavyweight titles, Joshua is now waiting to turn the tables in a rematch in 2022. Unless he does that, the Briton is bound to face some criticism from people all around the globe.

Meanwhile, Joshua’s former opponent Kubrat Pulev has freshly ridiculed him. Pulev lost his shot at the heavyweight belts in December 2020 when he fell prey to Joshua’s KO-power in the 9th round of their headlining clash. Despite making bold claims in the build-up, Pulev lost the bout.

‘The Cobra’ then turned his attention to Triller and is now the maiden heavyweight champion of Triad Combat. Following his title win against Frank Mir, Pulev reflected his opinion on Joshua’s loss against Usyk and didn’t seem surprised to have seen such an outcome.

In a chat with Michelle Joy Phelps, Pulev said, “Because I know [Anthony] Joshua was nothing and nothing special. And when I fight with him, I was not good prepared. I was before two weeks with Covid. We was not sure, we will go in the ballon you know. Inside I was with Covid and we don’t train so hard.”

Prior to Joshua vs Pulev, the Bulgarian camp and Top Rank chief Bob Arum had predicted a loss for Anthony Joshua. However, ‘AJ’ delivered one of his best performances and defeated Kubrat Pulev to retain the titles.

It was his first title defense since reclaiming the belts against Andy Ruiz Jr. in 2019. But Usyk arrived as doom and took away Joshua’s belts again, putting the second loss in AJ’s pro-resume.

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Can Anthony Joshua revive himself in the race?

AJ has a tough road ahead that will put him against an elite southpaw in Usyk once again. Although people had envisioned Joshua to beat the Ukrainian star in the first bout, the reality was way different from that.

Unbeaten as a professional, Oleksandr Usyk looked comfortable and kept moving inside the ring for all 12-rounds. He put on a lopsided show and drained out Joshua in a 12-round war.

Boxing – WBA, IBF & WBO Heavyweight Titles – Anthony Joshua v Oleksandr Usyk – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain – September 25, 2021 Anthony Joshua in action against Oleksandr Usyk Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge

Even before the official announcement, the massive contrast in Usyk and Joshua’s body language had spoken the facts. While Usyk was walking all over the ring, a tired Joshua couldn’t leave his corner.

It will be difficult to come back from such a harsh loss. However, AJ has done that in the past and can rely on his skills to beat Usyk. While he needs to introduce a lot in his combat arsenal, the former heavyweight kingpin stands at a very sensitive stage of his career.

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