Anthony Joshua Next Fight Rumors 2017: Joshua Will Face Kubrat Pulev on Oct. 28
Looks like Anthony Joshua's next title defense is set, and mandatory International Boxing Federation (IBF) challenger Kubrat Pulev will get the first crack at his heavyweight belts.
According to ESPN's Dan Rafael, Joshua's and Pulev's respective camps have reached an agreement to schedule the fight for Oct. 28. However, they still have a few minor details to iron out before they make it official. Rafael added that the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff will likely be the venue for the bout, but they are still exploring the possibility of holding the event in Las Vegas.
"The likely site is Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, but it's not done yet. There is an outside chance of the fight being in Las Vegas," Rafael said.
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"Joshua promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing will be in Las Vegas this week because he also promotes secondary light heavyweight titlist Nathan Cleverly, who defends against Badou Jack on Saturday's Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor undercard, and he likely will continue talking with MGM Grand executives about possibly hosting Joshua-Pulev," he continued.
Pulev is not exactly the most interesting opponent for Joshua since Wladimir Klitschko completely demolished the Bulgarian boxer when they met in 2014. But the champion has to face him or he will be stripped of his IBF belt.
In any case, Joshua's going to be a very busy man in the next couple of years. He will have to defeat Pulev first and face mandatory World Boxing Association (WBA) challenger Luis Ortiz before he can move on to more lucrative fights against the likes of World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title holder Deontay Wilder and World Boxing Organization (WBO) heavyweight champion Joseph Parker.
Joshua has also made it known that he's willing to fight a mixed martial artist under hybrid rules. That will have to wait as well.
Joshua wanted to face Klitschko in a rematch later this year, but the bout was scrapped when the Ukrainian decided to retire from the sport earlier this month.
