Anthony Joshua's next fight against Pulev likely to now take place in December

WORLD heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua will now have to wait until December to face Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev due do take place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as a result of delays brought about the Covid-19 lockdown easing.

Originally, the fight had been due to take place on June 20 but could not take place due to the coronavirus lockdown and now, there are doubts if it will hold this year at all. As it eases the Covid-19 lockdown, the UK government has listed several countries that will be exempt from quarantine rules upon arrival in the country and Bulgaria is not on this list.

Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn is splashing more than £5m on his open-air but closed-doors fight camp but fights cannot take place for now. Dillian Whyte will appear in next month’s last of Hearn’s four fan-less promotions in his back garden but even a discounted purse for Joshua cannot be met short of a crowded 02 Arena.

Whyte is taking a wage cut for his world heavyweight championship eliminator against Alexander Povetkin at the end of August to accommodate the loss of a potential £1m in gate revenue. However, for Joshua to come even close to his usual eight-figure pay night will require at least a £5m live attendance takings.

Since crowd sizes for boxing are not expected to be raised by the government to 50% capacity until mid-winter, Joshua’s defence of his world heavyweight titles has now been pushed back from October to December 5 or 12. By then he will have been out of action for a full year, since he regained those belts in his Saudi rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr.

Mr Hearn said: ‘I’ve just spoken to Josh and although he’s champing at the bit to fight again he gets it. The most we could hope for in October or November is a crowd of about 2,000. We can’t even rely on going somewhere abroad like Saudi for a big site fee because every country has a coronavirus problem.

"One upside of December is that Fury will be having his trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder six days before Christmas, so both events will spice things up for a fight between Tyson and Anthony Joshua next year. As long as they both win."