Already with a certain degree of certainty, we may say that Anthony Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) will have his next fight outside the UK. The 30-year-old champion wanted to praise to his native audience, but the coronavirus pandemic thwarted these plans.
Joshua was supposed to return to the ring on June 20 in a duel against Kubrat Pulev (28-1, 14 KOs), but the duel had to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was supposed that the new date would be July 25, but these plans also were not destined to come to life.
“It cannot be denied that sporting events in the UK will not return in the near future. Anthony wanted to please his fans, but the situation is very unusual,” said Eddie Hearn, the promoter of Joshua.
“Nobody in the world sells as many tickets to their fights as Joshua does. His duel without spectators would be a very sad event, but maybe we would have no other choice. However, we are doing everything possible to find a location that will allow us to organize a fight with the spectators,” the head of the Matchroom promotion said.
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Anthony Joshua defeated Andy Ruiz Jr. in December and regained his WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight belts. In the UK, a he last fought in September 2018.