- AJ and Pulev were set to clash on June 20
- The fight at Tottenham Stadium was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic
- Reports have indicated a possibility of Pulev stepping aside for AJ to fight Fury
- Mental Health and Psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev have three weeks to finalize where their fight will take place, this is according to Pulev’s management team.
AJ was set to defend his IBF, WBA and WBO belts against the Bulgarian Pulev at Tottenham Stadium on June 20 but the fight was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Now the Bulgarian’s Manager Ivaylo Gotsev has said that the two fighters have three weeks to finalize a location for their world title fight.
The Bulgarian said:
We have given ourselves four weeks to explore any and all opportunities that there are there for the fight.
Initial talks held by the Bulgarian’s team are considering a possibility of staging the fight at the Pula Arena, a Roman amphitheater in Croatia.
“Why Croatia? Well, first of all, when you look at the map of Europe, it’s right there in the center of the map, and it makes sense for our continent to host the event, and also the venue itself is very inviting because it’s an open-air venue,” said Gotsev.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn insists that the most favorable option for the fight would be in UK. This is in line with Joshua’s wish who has admitted that he wants to fight in front of the British boxing fans after regaining his titles from Andy Ruiz Jr in December last year.
“At the moment our preference is to stage the event in the UK, but we will keep our options open in terms of alternative venues if the UK is not an option,” said Hearn.
Pulev is still open to a fight in Joshua’s home country, Gotsev has confirmed, and the 39-year-old, whose sole loss came against Wladimir Klitschko in 2014, intends to rip the world titles away with an emphatic victory.
