The EBU have shot down promoter Eddie Hearn's championship plan for Olympic gold medal winner Anthony Joshua (15-0, 15KOs), according to information provided to BoxingScene.com.
As previously reported, Hearn discussed his interest in matching Joshua against the winner of Saturday's fight in Helsinki between Robert Helenius and Franz Rill, who battle for the vacant EBU heavyweight title.
The EBU has made it clear that the Helenius-Rill winner will NOT be allowed a voluntary defense. The winner will have to face former champion Erkan Teper within three months. Teper was originally scheduled to face Helenius on Saturday, but withdrew with injury.
Once that is in the books, the EBU set down Dereck Chisora as the following mandatory challenger for the title - and once again there will be NO voluntary defenses allowed between the two mandatory obligations.