Kubrat Pulev: record, next fight and profile →
The biggest heavyweight fight in boxing – maybe the biggest fight in the sport, period – is certainly a showdown for the undisputed championship between British countrymen Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. Some have speculated that perhaps the fight could take place at the end of the year, but that is unlikely for a variety of reasons.
Eddie Hearn had denied speculation that negotiations have commenced to match his heavyweight Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. However, he does say speculative proposals have been talked about should the roadblocks to that fight, Kubrat Pulev and Deontay Wilder, step aside.
Anthony Joshua is training through his self-quarantine as if he is trying to prove he is better than Tyson Fury. If that reads as though Joshua is looking past Kubrat Pulev, well, he is – at least figuratively. The IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion explained his current state of mind during a recent appearance on Chris Mannix’s Sports Illustrated boxing podcast.
News of the first steps taken towards creating an undisputed heavyweight champion has already generated a buzz to the point of it sounding too good to be true. That’s because it is too good to be true. A major development first reported by ESPN’s Mark Kriegel revealed initial talks taking place between representatives for Tyson Fury (30-0-1, 21KOs) and Anthony Joshua (23-1, 21KOs) for a colossal showdown somewhere down the road. The pair of British behemoths own all of the relevant heavyweight hardware between them, with such a fight undoubtedly to go down as the biggest in the history of boxing in the United Kingdom.
Promoter Eddie Hearn is very open to the idea of staging big fights behind closed doors. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Hearn was forced to postpone numerous events - including Anthony Joshua vs. Kubrat Pulev, Alexander Povetkin vs. Dillian Whyte, and Derek Chisora vs. Oleksandr Usyk.
Bob Arum remains supremely confident of having full reign of the heavyweight division the moment boxing returns at full strength. The Hall of Fame promoter’s Top Rank outfit represents two-time and reigning lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury (30-0-1, 21KOs), who cemented his place atop the division following a 7th round knockout of Deontay Wilder (42-1-1, 41KOs) in their celebrated rematch this past February. Also under the promotional banner is former title challenger and current top-rated contender Kubrat Pulev (28-1, 14KOs), who is due to challenge two-time and current unified heavyweight titlist Anthony Joshua (23-1, 21KOs).
Anthony Joshua’s WBA, WBO, IBO and IBF heavyweight title defence against Kubrat Pulev could be staged abroad due to the coronavirus pandemic, Eddie Hearn has admitted.
Bob Arum’s familiarity with Andy Ruiz Jr. is one of the primary reasons he is so confident Kubrat Pulev will knock out Anthony Joshua. As much as Arum would want to be part of a lucrative Joshua-Tyson Fury heavyweight extravaganza, the 88-year-old promoter is convinced Pulev will prevent it from remaining possible even before Fury faces Deontay Wilder a third time. England’s Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) is tentatively scheduled to make a mandatory defense of his IBF championship against Bulgaria’s Pulev (28-1, 14 KOs) on June 20 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
Eddie Hearn, promoter for IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, is still hoping to have his superstar boxer fight twice in 2020. But the ongoing coronavirus pandemic could easily derail that scenario. Joshua was scheduled to make a mandatory defense against Kubrat Pulev on June 20 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. The event has since been postponed.
Kubrat Pulev and his co-promoters, Ivaylo Gotzev and John Wirt with Epic Sports & Entertainment, are developing contingency plans that would permit the promotion of Joshua vs. Pulev for the world heavyweight championship in a post-coronavirus environment even if mass gatherings remain restricted.