In a scenario that many insiders had expected, undefeated heavyweight contender Jarrell Miller has walked away from an IBF final eliminator with Kubrat Pulev.

The biggest sticking point in reaching a deal - is the firm position by Pulev to stage the contest in his home country of Bulgaria.

The recent purse bid was won by Epic Sports, which were also on board with Pulev's position to have the fight on his home soil.

Miller was willing to do the fight, according to his promoter Dmitry Salita, but the contest had to take place in the United States.

"We were trying for the fight to happen in the United States, or at the very least some kind of neutral territory, and we just couldn't make that deal," Salita exclusively told Sky Sports.

"Jarrell wants to fight the best fighters in the world and Pulev is a very good fighter, and we would consider that fight, just the location didn't work for us.

"Jarrell has demonstrated in his last few fights that he is willing to fight the best and he's stepped up. That's always been our goal. We'll explore other options, but I think we'll have something significant to announce soon."

Once-beaten heavyweight Hughie Fury is next in line to fight Pulev - and the sanctioning body is expected to send him an invitation to face the Bulgarian boxer in the final eliminator.

The winner of the eliminator will become the mandatory challenger to champion Anthony Joshua, who also holds the WBA, WBO, IBO world titles.

Fury had challenged Joseph Parker for the WBO world title last year and lost a close twelve round decision. That title was taken over by Joshua, who won a decision over Parker in March.

Pulev was scheduled to face Joshua last fall - but he suffered an injury in training camp and withdrew.