Anthony Joshua is set to defend his IBF world heavyweight title against Kubrat Pulev, after the Bulgarian revealed details of the fight online.
Joshua defeated Andy Ruiz Jr in December 2019 in Saudi Arabia to regain his WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO titles.
And shortly after the British superstar was ordered to defend his WBO and IBF titles or he’d have to relinquish one of them.
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Mandatory
The WBO gave Joshua 180 days to face mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk, while the IBF made a similar demand with Pulev.
And despite promoter Eddie Hearn’s best efforts to fulfil both obligations, it now looks as though Joshua will be forced to relinquish one of his belts.
It seems that belt will be the WBO title, as IBF challenger Pulev has hinted heavily at a match-up with Joshua in Istanbul in May.
Pulev posted a link to Facebook which appears to confirm the bout.
The article also contains a promotional poster which shows Vodafone Park in Istanbul, home to the Besiktas football team.
Surprising Venue
The city is also set to host the Champions League final in the same month at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium.
The revelation comes as something of a surprise, as AJ and promoter Hearn have frequently expressed their desire for a UK title defence at either Wembley or the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Joshua hasn’t fought in the UK since he beat Alexander Povetkin in September 2018, and has revealed he would favour a homecoming for his next fight.
The champion was scheduled to face Pulev in October 2017, but the Bulgarian pulled out of the fight due to injury.
The Brit instead defended his titles against Carlos Takam, successfully despatching the Cameroonian in the tenth round.
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Frustration
Eddie Hearn has expressed frustration that Joshua may lose a belt, telling BoxingScene:
“Joshua doesn’t want to vacate the belts.”
“He loves them.”
“We need to have a conversation of common sense between the governing bodies. We’ve written to to the IBF and WBO.”
“You can’t just hold Anthony to ransom and say you have to vacate one.”
“It’s a bit of a messy situation, but Joshua will defend his titles against whoever he has to.”
“But he really wants the undisputed fight, so we’ll so what happens.”
But Joshua has revealed he isn’t worried about giving up a belt, and firmly believes he’ll win it back.
“I always said the belts do not represent me,”
“I will stand as a champion, even if I have to give one up.”
If I have to, I’ll give it away – but I’ll get it back again.”
(Featured image source: Instagram/ Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev, Facebook/ Kubrat Pulev)