Joshua, an Arsenal fan, last fought in London in September 2018, when he beat Alexander Povetkin at Wembley Stadium
Anthony Joshua has announced that he will put his IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight championship belts on the line in a homecoming fight against Kubrat Pulev at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on June 20.
It means that, for now, the undisputed heavyweight battle between WBC champion Tyson Fury – a showdown fans have been clamouring for since Fury defeated Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas 10 days ago – has been scuppered.
The Bulgarian heavyweight, who will be 39 years old when he steps into the ring, was due to meet Joshua at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium in October 2017 but was forced to withdraw through injury. As mandatory challenger to the IBF crown, Pulev, who is promoted by Bob Arum, gets his opportunity to ruin the champion’s plans to face Fury in an all-British blockbuster later this year.
The Telegraph understands that there have been moves behind the scenes to ensure the Joshua-Fury fight happens next, and for Wilder to be offered “step aside” money with the guarantee of facing the winner for the undisputed title, but that appears to have fallen by the wayside. Instead, Joshua will defend his belts in June, in London, and Fury and Wilder will meet for a third time in the USA in July. The fight is contracted to take place in America.
Pulev, the experienced Bulgarian, has lost just once in 29 fights – to Wladimir Klitschko in 2013 – and has since beaten Britons Derek Chisora and Hughie Fury. “On June 20, I am defending my heavyweight world titles,” said Joshua. “I’m back in my home city after some time away. A spectacular stadium has been built in north London and I’m honoured to bring the boxing community from all over the world to witness us make history with the stadium’s first heavyweight world title fight. The belts go back up in the air and nothing will stop me from being victorious.” Pulev added that he is on “a mission to show the world” that he deserves to be an elite champion and “fulfil my destiny”.
Promoter Eddie Hearn said: “We are so excited to see Anthony Joshua return to the capital, 70,000 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is going to be very special. 2019 was a crazy year that had everything – the only thing missing was a UK fight and as we go into what I believe will be the biggest year of AJ’s career so far, all our attention turns to Kubrat Pulev in an absolute ‘must-win’ fight. Pulev is undefeated in six years and his team and especially Bob Arum really fancy this. I think you are going to see something special from AJ on June 20 – a destructive performance on the road to undisputed.”
Elsewhere, DAZN – the leading global sports streaming service – revealed that it will dramatically increase its presence in 2020, expanding to more than 200 countries and territories. The first global event on DAZN will be Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez’s soon-to-be-announced fight on Saturday, May 2, against one of two Britons, either Billy Joe Saunders or Callum Smith; both reigning world champions. “Beginning this spring, most of the world will have access to DAZN and its unmatched schedule of boxing events,” said DAZN executive chairman John Skipper.
The streaming service has built a huge fighter roster since 2016, which includes Joshua and Canelo. DAZN’s executive vice-president Joseph Markowski, who will oversee the global service, added: “Establishing DAZN as the global home of fight sports is just the first step and we couldn’t think of a better attraction for our inaugural event than Canelo’s traditional ‘Cinco de Mayo’ weekend fight.”