Anthony Joshua confirmed on Monday that he will defend his world heavyweight titles against Kubrat Pulev in London on June 20.
The British boxer posted a picture of himself wearing his belts on his Twitter feed with the words “June 20th”.
Joshua, 30, regained the WBA, IBF and WBO titles with a unanimous points win over Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia in December.
June 20th ? pic.twitter.com/4FbiftE8Cl
— Anthony Joshua (@anthonyfjoshua) March 2, 2020
That victory saw the Briton avenge the first defeat of his professional career, in New York last June.
Joshua is set to face Bulgaria’s Pulev, 38, at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in north London.
Pulev, who is the mandatory challenger for Joshua’s IBF title, pulled out of a scheduled meeting with the Briton in 2017 due to injury.
The prospects for a much-anticipated all-British “superfight” between Joshua and Tyson Fury suffered a setback when American Deontay Wilder said he would trigger a clause in his contract for a third meeting with Fury, the new WBC champion.
Wilder has officially exercised his right to another fight against Fury and the plan is to stage the bout on July 18 at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, US media reported Sunday.
“We received a letter from Wilder’s team on Friday night, and we agreed with the networks and the hotel that July 18 was the optimal date,” promoter Bob Arum told the Los Angeles Times newspaper.
Fury stopped Wilder in the seventh round of their heavyweight title rematch in Las Vegas last week — the American’s first defeat of his career — after a draw between the two boxers in 2018.
Fury’s promoter Frank Warren had urged Wilder to ditch his re-match rights in return for a payment in order to pave the way for a lucrative unification bout between the self-styled “Gypsy King” and Joshua later this year.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn said last week they would do “everything we can” to bring about a fight with Fury.
The 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium could host a potential Joshua-Fury bout but it could take place overseas for financial reasons, with Saudi Arabia reported to be a potential venue.
“You go back to (Muhammad) Ali fighting (George) Foreman in Zaire when a lot of money was put up, you go back to the ‘Thrilla in Manila’, where money was put up. That happens in boxing,” Warren told the Daily Telegraph.
“All I can say at our end is that if we can do it we’ll do it, for obvious reasons,” he added.
Joshua wants fight in Nigeria
Joshua had revealed his desire to defend his world heavyweight title belts one day in Nigeria, following his rematch win over Andy Ruiz Jnr in Saudi Arabia.
The 30-year-old Joshua, from Watford, said he began to dream of a fight in Nigeria – which would be the first world championship heavyweight fight on the continent outside South Africa since greats Muhammad Ali and George Foreman fought the “Rumble in the Jungle” in Zaire in 1974 – after a visit to the country this year.
Joshua said: “People had been telling me I should go back for ages. It was crazy because they don’t have 24-hour electricity but they still know me and support me.
“I went to the ghettos of the ghettos where it’s not all about egos and beef, it’s about people who are hungry to survive.” He added: “It was one of the best things I’ve done. Africa’s rooting for me for sure, so I would definitely love to fight out there.”
Joshua’s parents are both of Nigerian descent, and the fighter made a bid to represent the country at the 2008 Olympics, only to be turned down by boxing officials.
(AFP)
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