ANTHONY JOSHUA could barely fit in his shirt as he appears to be bulking up for his fight against Kubrat Pulev.
The WBA, IBF and WBO champion is set to face 39-year-old Bulgarian Pulev at the end of the year, after their initial June date was KO’d amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In the meantime AJ flew over to Marbella to rest and recover after injuring his knee while training, requiring a temporary leg brace.
A picture shared on Instagram shows the 30-year-old champion almost bursting out of his shirt.
Further snaps from his Spanish vacation, where he bumped into rival Brit champ Tyson Fury by chance, signalled return to the mammoth 18st KO artist.
AJ won his first world title in 2015 at 17st 6lbs, thrilled the planet with the 2017 Wladimir Klitschko win up at 17st 12lbs and out-muscled Carlos Takam at a giant 18st 2lbs six months later.
Joshua’s career-heaviest win was against Takam, who filled in for an injured Pulev, meaning the plan may always have been to bully the Bulgarian with added bulk.
AJ’s disastrous June 2019 loss to Andy Ruiz Jr – when he was a ripped 17st 9lbs Adonis – sparked a shake-up of his style, corner and size.
Joshua dropped almost a stone to outbox the Mexican over 12 one-sided rounds in December at a new slimline 16st 13lbs – his lightest in five years.
His recent injury will have limited the amount of fitness and cardio work Joshua could have done over the summer.
He even posted a video drilling left hooks on the heavy bag while sitting down.
But it definitely looks like the dedicated heavyweight has done a lot more then just pack on a few accidental holiday pounds.
