Report- Joshua to defend against Pulev June 20th

Fresh off the heels of Tyson Fury’s upset win over Deontay Wilder to capture the WBC Heavyweight title last Saturday night, Unified champ Anthony Joshua now has his firm date for his next fight later this year.

That’s according to Boxingscene.com senior writer, Keith Idec, who reported Thursday afternoon that the WBA, WBO and IBF World Champion will next defend his title at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on June 20th against Kubrat Pulev:

Joshua-Pulev Done Deal For June 20 At Tottenham, Says Hearn https://t.co/7fu9UG5ijL pic.twitter.com/XJUfMtx4z9

— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) February 27, 2020

The Joshua-Pulev fight has been under discussion for the last two months, since the IBF ordered Joshua to fight their number one contender in a mandatory defense next. The IBF had extended the deadline twice for Joshua and his promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing and Pulev’s promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank Boxing, to come to an agreement.

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is a 65,000 seat state-of-the-art facility that was just redone in the spring of 2019. It not only houses the English Premier League soccer team but also has a multi-year deal with the NFL to play at least two of its games in that Stadium over the course of the next four years.

Hearn had previously said that there were numerous countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United States that were options for the Joshua (22-1) title defense. Joshua regained his belts with a 12-round decision over American Andy Ruiz last December. Ruiz had upset Joshua on a 7th round TKO last June at Madison Square Garden.

Hear more on our thoughts on Johsua-Pulev and the future of the Heavyweight division on our Big Fight Weekend podcast here:

Pulev, 28-1,  is the number one IBF contender despite not having beaten a significant opponent in the last three years. He challenged for the Heavyweight Title once before, losing on a 12-round decision to then Undisputed Champion, Wladimir Klitschko, in 2014. He has won his eight fights since, mostly against nondescript competition.

Hearn also confirmed to Idec that WBO number one ranked heavyweight Contender Oleksandr Usyk will now fight British Contender Dereck Chisora on May 23rd. Usyk, who is the undefeated former Undisputed Cruiserweight Champion suffered an elbow injury in training earlier this month delaying that fight from being officially announced.

It is believed that Joshua will fight Usyk in late 2020, if he is victorious in this fight with Chisora. Of course, Hearn has been bragging all week that he can make a Joshua-Fury fight for later this year because Tyson Fury is with Arum and Top Rank.