Anthony Joshua has warned his opponent in Saturday’s world title fight Kubrat Pulev that he is more experienced now.
Joshua claimed he “was just a pup” when they were first due to meet in 2017.
The duo will clash at the SSE Arena in Wembley on Saturday night.
‘ I was thinking about that the other day, I went through a lot of my career not even knowing what I was doing,” he said. “I was just fighting.
“I’ve watched back all my fights. I watched the Eric Molina fight the other day, I watched a bit of the Carlos Takam fight, I watched the Wladimir Klitschko fight and I was like ‘Wow! How was I in these type of fights with the little bit of experience I had?’.
‘Looking at who I am today, I like to reflect a lot and I think ‘I was just a pup, I was a little puppy’.
“I feel stronger, I feel smarter and it’s the same thing I say with the other guys I’m trying to catch up to and I want to fight.
“The longer they leave it, the tougher it’s going to be for them because experience is the best teacher and I’m gaining so much experience every day I step in the gym.”
While Joshua has developed and gained more experience, Pulev may be past his best and he is 39.
The Bob Arum-promoted fighter has also not been as busy as Joshua since their first encounter fell through and has had just three fights since April 2017, including a points win over Hughie Fury.
“Pulev, three years ago might have been too early for me,” said the 2012 Olympic gold medallist.
“I’m more experienced now, I’m wiser. I’ve lost a fight and I would never want to lose a fight again because I know what that feels like.”
