Anthony Joshua’s world heavyweight title fight against Kubrat Pulev on June 20 could be moved to July, says promoter Eddie Hearn.
The 30-year-old Briton is due to defend his WBA, WBO and IBF belts at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“We do have a potential date in July but, right now, we are hoping June 20 can remain the date,” Matchroom Boxing’s Hearn told Sky Sports.
Bulgarian Pulev, 38, is the mandatory IBF challenger to take on Joshua.
With the uncertainty around when the remaining games in domestic football will be completed because of the coronavirus outbreak, and the possibility the season could extend into the summer months, Hearn said he has had conversations with Tottenham to “make sure we’re all on the same page”.
“We know we have the same strategy moving forward,” added Hearn. “Obviously the Premier League decision will play a big part in a number of sports. Plans to put new dates in place and that fight as well.”
Joshua won the WBA, WBO and IBF belts back with a unanimous points victory over Andy Ruiz Jr last December.
If the fight with Pulev does go ahead, it will be Joshua’s first bout in the United Kingdom since beating Alexander Povetkin at Wembley in September 2018.
He was initially due to fight Pulev at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium in October 2017 but the Bulgarian withdrew after suffering a shoulder injury in sparring, with Carlos Takam stepping in to replace him at 12 days’ notice.
Browsing: Eddie Hearn
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Negotiations to finalise Joshua’s next fight have hinged mainly on the location – the IBF, WBA and WBO champion’s preference is a UK homecoming after two fights abroad in 2019, and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has emerged as the “frontrunner” to host a fight in June.
Anthony Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has told talkSPORT that his man will vacate one of his world titles, if it means confirming a fight with Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury later this year.
Britain’s unified champion has been granted more time for talks with Bulgarian Pulev, his IBF mandatory challenger, but the Matchroom Boxing boss is confident that terms will be agreed within a fortnight.
That is if promoter Eddie Hearn can convince the Bulgarian to travel to the UK.
Anthony Joshua’s team have received a “huge site offer” to stage an undisputed world title clash against the winner of the Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury fight in Saudi Arabia.
The latter shocked the world in June, stopping the Brit superstar after sending him to the canvas four times.
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