Anthony Joshua will not be able to defend his IBO, WBA, WBO and IBO titles against Kubrat Pulev on June 20th. The fight was already facing a lot of speculations regarding the postponement. Consequently, the promoters have decided to act upon accordingly.
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The event was scheduled to take place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Joshua’s promoter Matchroom Boxing made the announcement.
They added that a new date is being worked upon. The promoters further hope to organize the fight at the same venue in future.
Pulev had speculated that the fight will get postponed. Due to the outbreak of the virus, he wasn’t able to travel to his training camp in Southern California. However, he wasn’t against the idea of fighting in an empty arena. The Bulgarian is riding an eight-fight winning streak. His last defeated came at the hands of Wladimir Klitschko.
Interestingly, that defeat is the only one of his professional career. Joshua and Pulev have been booked to fight each other once before as well. However, the latter was ruled out of the fight after sustaining a shoulder injury in training. Carlos Takam instead took his place and fought Joshua.
Anthony Joshua is coming back after back-to-back fights with Andy Ruiz
The year 2020 was full of ups and downs for the Watford born fighter. He recorded the first loss on his career as he went down against Andy Ruiz Jr. AJ was not looking his usual self in the fight. Whether it was due to the sudden change in opponent, or something else, Joshua didn’t give the people the version of him that they were expecting.
However, it didn’t take him long to regain his throne. He defeated Ruiz in a rematch in December and gained the rightful possession of his belts. The fight against Pulev will be his first defence after regaining the belts. A win over him would set the stage for a clash with Tyson Fury.
Pulev’s co-promoter with Top Rank, John Writ of Epic Sports, said that they were disappointed. However, they supported the decision considering the safety of the fighters and the general public.
