Fans or not: Anthony Joshua vs Kubrat Pulev will not be postponed again, says Eddie Hearn

Planet Sport writerStaff Writer16 September 2020
Anthony Joshua, left, was set to take on Kubrat Pulev, right, on June 20 but the coronavirus pandemic led to the bout being postponed (Nick Potts/PA)

Anthony Joshua, left, was set to take on Kubrat Pulev, right, on June 20 but the coronavirus pandemic led to the bout being postponed (Nick Potts/PA)

The two fighters were originally meant to clash in June at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium...

Anthony Joshua vs Kubrat Pulev will not be postponed again, Eddie Hearn has confirmed.

The duo were due to fight in June at the newly opened Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

But the outbreak of COVID-19 forced this and several other Matchroom Boxing events to be postponed.

With Fight Camp now in the rearview mirror, promoter Hearn is now starting the next phase of bringing boxing back with several fight nights scheduled before the end of the year.

Anthony Joshua in Riyadh before his rematch against Andy Ruiz Jr

Hearn told BBC Radio 5 Live that whether fans can attend or not, Joshua vs Pulev will not be postponed again:
"Anthony hasn't boxed for a year and the ultimate thing is he needs to progress his career. He wants to learn, he wants to fight, he wants to be active and we live in a world now where you can't wait.
"You've got two options: you either sit and wait - and that includes Anthony Joshua - maybe until next year, or you get out there and you fight, you earn your money, you learn your craft and you continue to battle through it.
"We hope that there is some sunshine over the hill with this whole nightmare.
"We are not prepared to sit tight and wait and we have said in these schedules, fans or no fans, our fights will be taking place.
"If you're a business, if you're a sport, you can't afford to sit and wait for what might be."

Joshua last fought in December 2019 as he reclaimed his world titles against Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia.

Joshua celebrates becoming a two-time heavyweight champion in Saudi Arabia

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden is due to meet with several sporting bodies on Wednesday.

This is with the view of allowing 1,000 fans attend test events across several sports in the coming weeks.

Hearn added: "Every sport is in trouble without fans. We have got to do what is right. We have got to listen to the government but we have got to try and make sure we can bring them back.

"Hopefully this is the next phase of doing that and the venues will be dependent on whether fans will be allowed back into the arenas."