Heavyweight titleholder Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev have reached a deal to fight on June 20 at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, promoter Eddie Hearn told BoxingScene.com.
Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) will be making the first defense of the three titles he regained by outpoining Andy Ruiz Jr. in their rematch on Dec. 7. Ruiz stunned the boxing world when he stopped Joshua in seven rounds to take the belts in June.
Pulev (28-1, 14 KOs) is the mandatory challenger for one of Joshua’s titles. The 38-year-old Bulgarian was scheduled to challenge Joshua in 2017 but had to pull out because of a shoulder injury.
In 2014, Wladimir Klitschko stopped Pulev in five rounds in Pulev’s only world title fight. He has won eight consecutive fights since.
Joshua has another mandatory challenger for a different belt, Oleksandr Usyk. Joshua will likely defend against the former cruiserweight titleholder late this year if Usyk beats Derek Chisora on May 23.
Tyson Fury owns the fourth heavyweight title after stopping Deontay Wilder on Feb. 22.