London (AFP)
Briton Anthony Joshua, unified heavyweight champion, will have to wait before putting his titles back into play: his fight against the Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev, scheduled for June 20, has been officially postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, announced promoter Matchroom Sport Friday.
A "new date for the event" is "in preparation", assures the promoter in a press release.
Joshua, who placed himself in quarantine last week after contact with Prince Charles, positive at Covid-19, had to defend his WBA-IBF-WBO-IBO heavyweight belts against Kubrat Pulev in London in the stadium of Tottenham football club.
"We will announce any progress in due course and continue to explore the possibility of organizing this fight at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium," said Matchroom Sport.
This is the second time that Pulev has missed a chance to face Joshua after the shoulder injury that forced him to forfeit before a fight, for the world title already, in October 2017. Frenchman Carlos Takam had it replaced at short notice and lost on technical knockout on the 10th recovery.
Joshua promoter Eddie Hearn warned Friday that if the fight against Pulev were to be postponed beyond July, his foal would favor a confrontation against his compatriot Tyson Fury, WBC champion and scarecrow of the category since his victory against the American Deontay Wilder in February.
"We will be in a situation where if Joshua only has to fight once this year, he would like it to be against Tyson Fury," Hearn told Sky Sports.
After dethroning Wilder, Fury is scheduled to complete his trilogy of fights against the American in late 2020, but Joshua's promoter believes that negotiations are possible.
"The situation escapes us a little, admitted Hearn. If Bob Arum and Al Haymon (the promoters of Fury and Wilder, editor's note) can talk and make Deontay Wilder wait a little, we would be delighted to make this fight (Fury- Joshua, editor's note) the next "
© 2020 AFP