Tag: Joshua-Pulev

Eddie Hearn wants Deontay Wilder out of way when Fury-Joshua deal is struck

Eddie Hearn wants Deontay Wilder to be out of the picture when his fighter, Anthony Joshua, negotiates to fight Tyson Fury.

Eddie Hearn wants Deontay Wilder completely out of the picture when he sits down for negotiations for a fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

Wilder was rumored to have been offered $10 million to step aside as Fury’s next opponent so “The Gypsy King” could go directly into an all-British showdown with Joshua, assuming Kubrat Pulev, Joshua’s scheduled opponent, also agreed to a deal.

That notion was dismissed by Bob Arum, Fury’s co-promoter. The step-aside offer is fiction, he said. And Hearn wouldn’t want it anyway. Presumably, had Wilder agreed to step aside, he would’ve  demanded the right to face the winner of Fury-Joshua.

Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, has a two-fight series between Fury and his client in mind.

“I think Bob Arum said in an interview … he doesn’t know where this number [of $10 million] has come from,” Hearn told IFL TV. “[Wilder has] said in interviews he won’t step aside. And with everything happening in terms of the uncertainty over the future of the world, let alone boxing, he’s not going to want to step aside.

“We also don’t want to enter into a deal where we say, ‘Oh, when we beat Tyson Fury, we have to face Deontay Wilder and he has to get 40%.’ Deontay Wilder is out. He’s done. He’s just a voluntary challenger. We want a clean slate when we enter into a deal, whether it’s a one-fight deal with Tyson or a two-fight deal. But when AJ beats Tyson Fury, we don’t want an obligation to fight Deontay Wilder. What’s he got to do with it?

“He’s done. He’s beaten. He’s just been knocked out. If he beats Tyson Fury, then we want to fight Deontay Wilder. But if he doesn’t, he’s just back into the rankings. He’s not coming into a fight with the undisputed champion. So in that respect it’s a lot easier for us just to have a clean slate, and everybody is on the same page with that as well.”

Fury knocked out Wilder in seven rounds in February, after which Wilder exercised a clause in their contract that allowed for a third fight between them. They are expected to meet again before the end of the year, as are Joshua and Pulev.

Kubrat Pulev has designs on spoiling Anthony Joshua’s plans

Kubrat Pulev, Anthony Joshua’s next opponent, and his team say he might end being the one faces Tyson Fury next.

The momentum is building toward a lucrative two-fight, title-unification series between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

One potential problem? Kubrat Pulev, Joshua’s next opponent, has no plans to cooperate.

Joshua, who holds three heavyweight titles, and Pulev, mandatory challenger for one of the belts, have no date set because of the coronavirus pandemic but they are expected to meet in late summer or fall.

The location also is uncertain, although sites in the Middle East and Croatia are being considered.

“We’ve got a little history going here, with Kubrat and British heavyweights,” Ivalyo Gotsev, Pulev’s manager, told Sky Sports. “He’s knocked off quite a few. He shut up Derek Chisora because he had a big mouth.

“That was great, then beating another Fury, the little cousin was also a pretty good feat. That was the fight that qualified him to be the No 1 contender to Joshua, another British champion, so there is a little connection there.

“Kubrat versus U.K., I like that. A little name for himself there, so yeah, let’s deal with Joshua first. Let the best man win, and then we’ll look at options with Tyson Fury. Either way, all roads lead to Fury.

“I can say that, because I think he’s shown to be one of the supreme guys out there, if not the supreme guy. He is the man. It would be delightful to face the UK champions, one after another, wouldn’t it?”

Pulev (28-1, 14 KOs) has won eight consecutive fights since his only loss, a fifth-round knockout against then-champion Wladimir Klitschko in 2014. The fight with Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) is the Bulgarian’s second title shot.

“His mindset is, ‘We’re going to war,’” Gotsev said. “Going to war. It’s a lot of preparation. We know what’s at stake. This is his chance to rise to the top and become the first and only heavyweight champion from our country and that part of the world.

“It’s a very exciting time for him, and he’s doing everything he has to do to get himself ready for this fight. It’s going to be a formidable fight. They’re the same height, same physical strength and let’s see who is the better boxer now and a better fighter of this era.

“Kubrat will present a great challenge for Joshua, that’s all I can say.”

Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, said he would like to stage the fight with Pulev in the U.K. but he’s at the mercy of the pandemic.

“We hope between September and December live gates will return to the U.K.,” Hearn said. “There is also a chance they won’t. If that’s the case, we will take the fight elsewhere. We have had a number of approaches from the Middle East, China, and Croatia to stage the fight.

“We want to give ourselves every opportunity to stage it in the U.K., but we know it may not be possible. We want the mandatory defense boxed off, out of the way, before [Joshua] moves into the undisputed fight next year.”

Anthony Joshua, Kubrat Pulev have three weeks to choose site for their fight

Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev have about three weeks to select a site for their title fight, according to Pulev’s manager.

Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev have about three weeks to figure out where they’re going to hold their world title fight, according to Pulev’s manager, Ivaylo Gotzev.

The two were originally set to square off at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on June 20, but the fight was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to the two fighters discussing alternative options.

“Eddie [Hearn] has spoken to you about the Middle East, which is a great possibility,” Gotzev told Sky Sports. “It makes sense, because those countries were not as hard affected, and if you take the right precautions, we could really have a safe environment.

“That’s something I want to emphasize, and I can’t say it enough times — safety first. We don’t want to take a risk against anyone’s health, no way, no how.”

Outside the Middle East, one of the venues that has been discussed is the Pula Arena, a Roman amphitheater on the coast of Croatia with a capacity of 5,000. The venue is popular for concerts.

“Croatia is one of the countries that was not hit very hard, as we know, and also with proper measurements, that could be the case where we’re not exposing everybody,” Gotzev said. “An open-air stadium where you could spread out the crowd a little bit makes perfect sense.”

That being said, Hearn still thinks the fight would ideally take place in Britain because Joshua is British and has been vocal about wanting to fight in front of his home nation after regaining his titles in a rematch win over Andy Ruiz Jr. in Saudi Arabia back in December.

“At the moment our preference is to stage the event in the U.K., but we will keep our options open in terms of alternative venues if U.K. is not an option,” Hearn told Sky Sports.

Gotzev said that Pulev is all for having the fight in the U.K. and doesn’t mind giving Joshua home-field advantage.

“It was Joshua’s demand, ‘I want to go back home.’ OK Joshua, you’re the champ, we respect that, we’re coming to the U.K. Kubrat is coming there to kick your ass, in front of your crowd. No problem,” Gotzev said.

“They are fighters. It’s one against the other. At the end of the day, the public can jump, scream and shout, but it’s mano e mano in the ring, we’ve worked out that. To us, it didn’t matter that the fight is taking place in the U.K.”

Bob Arum confirms that Kubrat Pulev won’t step aside for Fury-Joshua fight

Bob Arum confirmed that Kubrat Pulev does not intend to step aside so Anthony Joshua can go directly into a showdown with Tyson Fury.

Bob Arum confirmed what we all had figured out: Kubrat Pulev does not intend to step aside so Anthony Joshua can go directly into a showdown with Tyson Fury.

Joshua was scheduled to defend his heavyweight titles against Pulev on June 20 at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London but the fight was postponed because of the coronavirus threat.

Fury’s third fight with Wilder also was uncertain because of the pandemic.

Thus, there was talk that Joshua and Fury would bypass their contracted opponents and fight one another for the undisputed heavyweight championship in what arguably would be the biggest possible fight in boxing.

However, Wilder and Pulev have said they aren’t interested in stepping aside. And Arum, who represents the Bulgarian and co-promotes Fury, confirmed that Pulev is determined to fight Joshua next.

“No step aside for Pulev,” Arum told BadLeftHook.com very simply.

The question is when and where.

“I talked to Eddie Hearn about Joshua vs. Pulev,” he said, referring to Joshua’s promoter. “It looks like it can’t be the U.K., because there couldn’t be spectators. [It] looks like there are a couple other possibilities [for the site of the event]. It’s probably not gonna take place until later this year. And definitely not the U.K.

“Also, for Fury vs. Wilder, that’s looking like the fourth quarter.”

Pulev’s manager, Ivaylo Gotsev, pitched the idea of staging the fight at a Roman amphitheater in Pula, Croatia.

Kubrat Pulev’s manager pitches Croatia as site for Anthony Joshua fight

The handlers of Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev are discussing the possibility of staging their fight in a Roman amphitheater in Croatia.

Could Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev fight in Croatia?

Pulev’s manager told Bulgarian media that he and Joshua’s handlers are discussing the possibility of staging the title fight in a Roman amphitheater in Pula, Croatia.

Joshua was scheduled to defend his titles against Pulev on June 20 at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London but the fight was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ivaylo Gotsev, Pulev’s manager, pitched the amphitheater as an unusual option. It has been the site of a variety of events, including a Felix Sturm fight in 2005.

No date has been set.

“For our part, we are discussing Croatia,” he told the journalists from Bulgaria, Pulev’s native country. “There is a unique Roman stadium, Pula Arena, and we are in active conversation. We like this variant because it is in Europe, in the middle of the continent. The arena itself predisposes to an unprecedented event in our times.

“There must be mutual consent. We want the conditions and rules to be favorable for both parties. [Joshua promoter Eddie] Hearn is talking about the Middle East, and we have left it to him to communicate in that direction.

“Bulgaria it cannot be, because Joshua will not agree. He wanted to be home, but force majeure led to a change. Kubrat was ready to fight in Joshua’s backyard and even if his family were judges!”

The handlers of Joshua and Tyson Fury, who is set to fight Deontay Wilder a third time, reportedly have had conversations about jumping directly into a title-unification bout. However, Pulev and Wilder evidently do not intend to step aside.