Mihai Nistor, the first heavyweight to knock out Anthony Joshua, returns to action on the Zuffa Boxing 9 card at Madison Square Garden Theater in New York this Sunday.
The Romanian heavyweight will feature on Dana White’s latest Zuffa Boxing event on July 26, with Edgar Berlanga vs. Steven Butler headlining the Paramount+ broadcast.
Nistor became the first man to stop Joshua when the pair met in the amateur ranks in 2011, years before the Briton won Olympic gold and became a two-time heavyweight world champion.
The result remains one of the most unusual moments in Joshua’s early career.
Anthony Joshua’s First Knockout Defeat
Before Joshua became one of boxing’s biggest names, Nistor handed him the only stoppage loss of his amateur career, only a year before he took Olympic gold.
Nistor’s amateur career saw him share the ring with several fighters who later became established professional contenders, including Joshua, Otto Wallin, Guido Vianello, Oleksandr Usyk, Frazer Clarke and Filip Hrgovic.
After turning professional in 2019 at the age of 28, Nistor quickly built a reputation as one of the heavyweight division’s most dangerous punchers.
The Bucharest native has won all eight of his professional fights by knockout and previously told WBN he would welcome the opportunity to face Joshua again.
“I’d love to box again with my former rivals,” Nistor told World Boxing News. “If I could box against Joshua and Usyk again, that would be my goal.
“I am confident and convinced that I will make it to the level of Joshua and Usyk.”
Nistor Returns With Zuffa
Nistor believes his amateur experience against top-level opposition has prepared him for the professional heavyweight division.
Those experiences gave Nistor years of high-level competition before he entered the professional ranks.
Nistor now returns as part of the Zuffa Boxing 9 card in New York.
The event also features Richardson Hitchins, Sergiy Derevyanchenko, Otto Wallin and Dominique Francis appearing on the bill.
The first heavyweight to knock out Anthony Joshua now returns to continue building his professional record in the Zuffa Boxing era.
About the Author
Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.
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