It’s time for Anthony Joshua to set his sights on IBF mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev. Wladimir Klitschko announced his official retirement this morning and the next step is to set up a fight against the Bulgarian.
“We have an agreement in place with the IBF that if it wasn’t Klitschko it would be Pulev. It will almost certainly be Pulev next,” told Hearn according to The Daily Mail.
The most interesting thing is that despite Klitschko pulling out, Joshua’s next fight might still be in Las Vegas but Cardiff is the new frontrunner.
“We need to sort out the final details but the venues don’t change. It will still be Vegas or Cardiff, with Cardiff probably the frontrunner. The date will be the same as well – probably October 28 or November 11, because ideally, we would like AJ to fight again in February or March so he can have three fights in 2018,” revealed Hearn.
The promoter says he obviously wanted to organise the huge rematch against the Ukrainian but wishes him the best since he’s now done with professional boxing.
“We are obviously disappointed from an event perspective because the rematch was huge, but from a personal perspective, I am happy for Wladimir. Sometimes a fighter goes in the gym and after a couple of weeks realises the hunger just isn’t there. That is when you have problems, but Wladimir knows in himself that this is the right time and I wish him nothing but the best,” told Hearn.