Deontay Wilder has lost his title, yet it looks as if he still has some power as a player in the heavyweight division.
A day after news broke that Wilder had formally exercised his option for a third fight with Tyson Fury, the Anthony Joshua-Kubrat Pulev fight is finally a done deal.
Joshua’s mandatory title defense against Pulev on June 20 at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was announced Monday by Matchroom Boxing, Joshua’s promoter, and Top Rank, Pulev’s promoter.
“I’m back in my home city after some time away,’’ Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) said. “A spectacular stadium has been built in North London, and I’m honored to bring the boxing community from all over the world to witness us make history with the stadium’s first heavyweight world title fight. The belts go back up in the air and nothing will stop me from being victorious.”
Negotiations for the bout had gone on for weeks. Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn said they had been held up by “silly things.’’
One of the “silly things’ appears to have been the contract clause that allowed the Fury-Wilder II loser to force a second rematch. With the third leg in the trilogy set and tentatively scheduled for July 18 in Las Vegas, the other key piece in the heavyweight division falls into place.
The Fury-Wilder III winner is expected to face the Joshua-Pulev winner barring something silly, something like a Pulev upset of Joshua, who holds three of the significant belts.
“I am happy to have the opportunity to show the world how strong I really am,” said Pulev (28-1, 14 KOs), a Bulgarian whose lone loss was to Wladimir Klitschko in November 2014 in Hamburg, Germany.