It was confirmed on the 2nd of March, 2020 that two-time unified heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, will be facing Kubrat Pulev, the International Boxing Federation’s (IBF) mandatory challenger, at Tottenham Hotspur’s 62,000-seater stadium on the 20th of June, 2020.

Here are 5 things you need to know about Anthony Joshua’s next opponent.

1) Kubrat “The Cobra” Venkov Pulev was born on the 4th of May, 1981 in Bulgaria.

He is a member of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and has a younger brother, Tervel Pulev, who is also a boxer. Both of them were named after Medieval Bulgarian rulers, Kubrat and Tervel. He was in a relationship with Bulgarian singer, Teodora Rumenova Andrea, from 2006 till 2019.

2) He has fought 29 times (14 wins by KO) and has only lost once.

His one loss was to the Cuban world champion, Odlanier Solís, during a rematch at the Chemiepokal Cup semi-final.

3) He held the European heavyweight twice between 2012 and 2016.

He challenged once for the unified world heavyweight title in 2014.

4) In March 2019, the California State Athletic Commission suspended Pulev’s license for forcibly kissing female journalist, Jennifer Ravolo, on the lips.

He had his license reinstated in July 2019 after completing his sexual harassment prevention class. He signed a caveat that if such a thing ever happens again, his licence will be once again revoked.

5) He was scheduled to fight Anthony Joshua back in 2017 but pulled out after 70,000 tickets had been sold.

It was due to a shoulder injury.

6) As of December 2019, he was ranked by BoxRec and the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board as the world’s 8th best active heavyweight.

He was also ranked 10th by The Ring magazine.

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