Unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will fight this year – even if current Covid-19 restrictions means there will be no fans in attendance.
As the pandemic has ravaged the world and its economy, Joshua’s delayed clash with IBF mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev has been pushed back from June to December.
The hope was for the rescheduled heavyweight title bout to take place with fans at the O2 Arena, but on Tuesday the British Government announced that spectators would not be allowed into sporting events for the foreseeable future as the Coronavirus threatens a second wave of heartbreak and disruption.
Yet promoter Eddie Hearn has insisted that Joshua-Pulev and other Matchroom Boxing events will still go ahead as planned within the parameters they have been given. That currently means the WBA Super, WBO and IBF title fight will take place behind closed doors in the UK or elsewhere where a crowd is permitted.
“Obviously, [the] announcement is a massive challenge for everyone in sport,” Hearn told The Daily Mail. “Our intention now is carry on with all our scheduled events. Clearly, the finances are affected by not having crowds, even smaller crowds, but we’re working to keep our schedule. That includes Joshua.
“You have two options – cancel or go ahead, quite possibly without a crowd. You’d still hope that by December you might have some back but you can’t plan on that now.
“We’ll go ahead in December for Joshua because it’s been a year since he fought Andy Ruiz [W12] and he needs to fight.”