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Joshua knocks out Pulev to retain heavyweight titles

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Victorious Joshua being declared winner of the heavyweight bout

World boxing heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua knocked out Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev near the end of the ninth round on Saturday to retain his IBF, WBO and WBA belts.

The 31-year-old Nigerian-born Briton was close to winning when he floored Pulev in the third round after a sweet right hand at the Wembley Srena in London.

But the challenger recovered to test the home favourite in front of a limited crowd of 1,000.

Pulev, 39, remained dangerous, without causing Joshua many anxious moments, but there was no escape in the ninth round.

Joshua landed a clubbing right upper-cut which sent Pulev to the canvas.

The Bulgarian got back to his feet but Joshua connected with another huge right hand to end the contest.(Reuters/NAN)

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