Eddie Hearn is working on a new date for Anthony Joshua’s title defense against Kubrat Pulev after the heavyweight bout was postponed.
The fight, scheduled for June 20 at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, was called off because the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Rescheduling it is tricky, according to Hearn.
Hearn said July 25 is a possibility but made it clear that nothing is certain these days.
“We have looked at alternative dates for everything without knowing anything concrete,” Hearn told talkSPORT in the U.K. “We have ongoing conversations with Tottenham to say that if the Premier League extends and does get played in June, then we’ll be pushed back.
“We do have a date of July 25 held at Spurs as well, which is more realistic. It is five weeks after June 20. But we haven’t gone on sale with that, we haven’t made an official announcement in terms of seat details and on-sale dates, so we have got less pressure on that. There is more pressure for Anthony to fight twice this year.
“I know there is a bigger picture going on but everybody in sport, everybody in business right now, needs to be working on a solution, the outcome, what happens when we get through this because it is going to be a horrifically messy time for all businesses, all sports, everything, when we do come out the other side.
“The world won’t be the same again and, in a lot of cases, we will have to start from scratch.”
One solution being discussed is staging the fight in an empty stadium. Pulev, for one, is OK with that.
“I’m ready for June 20, July 25, whenever they say,” Pulev said. “You see, what the situation is, the whole world must adjust to it. There’s no problem (if the fight is) to be without spectators. Everyone would be at home, they can pay-per-view, so I don’t see any problem financially.
“The show could be lost a bit without fans, but it can still happen. After all, it’s a world championship, which must take place.”