ANTHONY JOSHUA has ‘slimmed down’ to prepare for a ‘long fight’ against Kubrat Pulev.
The unified heavyweight champion defends his titles in a mandatory this Saturday, against Bulgarian Pulev.
It will bring an end to his longest career layoff, having not fought for 12 months, when he avenged defeat against Andy Ruiz Jr.
The night before, he tipped the scales at 16st 13lb – his lightest in a title fight – to help him outbox Ruiz and reclaim the WBA, IBF and WBO belts on points.
Six months prior, he weighed 17st 7lb, and was dropped four times on the way to losing in round seven.
Sky Sports pundit Spencer Olivier revealed he has inside information from AJ’s manager that the 31-year-old is likely to come in around that size.
Olivier said: “I thought Anthony Joshua looked brilliant.
“He looked slimmed down, I spoke to Freddie Cunningham, his manager, and he said the plan was for Joshua to come more slim.
“He thinks he’s better at that weight. I think we’ll see Joshua come in around the 17-and-a-half, 17st 10 mark.
“That’s where he’s most affective, when he’s got that athleticism, he moves his feet really well because he’s got good feet, pings his shots in really well.
“He’s going to need that against someone like Kubrat Pulev, who’s very strong, who’s very unorthodox, got a great jab, likes to hold his feet, likes to hold his ground.”
Pictures of Joshua meeting Tyson Fury, 32, coincidentally in Marbella appeared to show the 6ft 6in Londoner beefed up.
And training pictures also revealed his beefed up size.
But Oliver predicts Joshua could be preparing to go the distance instead of putting his efforts into power punching.
He said: “We could see with Joshua’s body frame, we could see maybe Joshua taking his time and just looking to break Pulev down.
“It’s going to be a really interesting fight, but Joshua has come away from the weights, he’s been working on the cardio side of things.
“So, it tells you that he might be preparing for a long fight.”
