Anthony Joshua reveals he was given ringside instructions to ‘jab’ Kubrat Pulev by Floyd Mayweather before knocking the Bulgarian out in the ninth round in December to defend his heavyweight titles
- Mayweather was a surprise attendee for Anthony Joshua v Kubrat Pulev
- Joshua delivered a stunning display to retain his IBF, WBA and WBO belts
- He knocked the Bulgarian out in the ninth round at the SSE Arena in December
- And now he has revealed he received ringside advice from legend Mayweather
Anthony Joshua has revealed he was given ringside advice from Floyd Mayweather to jab Kubrat Pulev in his fight against the Bulgarian in December.
The 44-year-old boxing legend was a surprisingly in attendance at the SSE Arena as Joshua successfully defended his IBF, WBA and WBO belts.
Having regained his titles from Andy Ruiz Jr in December 2019, Joshua produced another brilliant display to knock out the Bulgarian in the ninth round.
Anthony Joshua has revealed he was given ringside advice by Floyd Mayweather to jab Kubrat Pulev
The 44-year-old boxing legend was a surprise attendee for the fight in December last year
Now speaking to JD Sports, the British heavyweight revealed that Mayweather offered him ringside instructions in a bid to help him beat Pulev.
‘When I put my hand up there I could hear Mayweather say, ‘Jab, jab champ,’ Joshua said.
‘That’s when I kind of acknowledged him.’
Nobody knew that retired 50-0 star Mayweather was even in the UK until an Instagram story on his account revealed he was in London and would be attending.
Joshua produced a stunning display to retain his IBF, WBO and WBA belts earned in 2019
And speaking on his own YouTube documentary released earlier this year, Joshua insisted it was an ‘honour’ to fight in front of him and was happy to have pulled off one of the American’s signature moves.
‘It was the first time we were allowed fans back in stadiums and Mayweather was in the stadium,’ he said.
‘It’s an honour to have him in the house, I respect him highly for what he’s achieved. He came to see me perform and I pulled out one of his favourite moves which is the pull counter.
‘If you watch boxing, you’ll know that’s one of Mayweather’s signature moves. Having him in the house was an honour and I felt I had to give him a little something to remember.’
And now he has revealed Mayweather told him to keep jabbing the Bulgarian in a bid to help
Joshua’s next fight could see him face fellow Brit and WBC champions Tyson Fury, with the duo on the verge of reaching a £200million agreement to collide later this year for the undisputed heavyweight crown.
Unified champion Joshua however insisted that he still has huge ambitions to fulfill after facing Fury, but questioned whether the WBC champion will have the hunger to keep fighting after their Battle of Britain.
Joshua added: ‘He (Fury) can bring whatever he wants, it doesn’t matter to me.
‘The press conference antics, the fight antics, the hands behind the back, I love that stuff, that’s all part of it, you know that’s his job, but my job is to close the show.
‘He’s a warm-up act [with his antics], he’s there to do all that stuff but ultimately my job is to close the show and that’s all that matters.
Joshua also revealed he is looking past a potential £200m fight with Tyson Fury
‘For him, he said that after he fights me, maybe he fights [Derek] Chisora, then he’s ready to go off into the sunset.
‘For me, I’ve still got so much more I want to do in this boxing game, the road to undisputed (champion) is part of the journey, it’s not the end to the journey.
‘That’s why I know I will get past this fight because I’m looking past him, I want more, this isn’t where this stops.
‘The fight, god willing, will be this year, I’m saying it is going to be this year, I’m going to speak into existence and I will be victorious.’