Hearn hints Anthony Joshua could vacate one of his titles News

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Hearn hints Anthony Joshua could vacate one of his titles

By Daily Sports on June 9, 2017

Sport promoter Eddie Hearn says IBF/WBA heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua could wind up vacating one of his titles.

Hearn who promotes Joshua says the fighter could relinquish the title if a fight that one of the sanctioning bodies orders him to take isn’t one that the boxing public is particularly interested in seeing.

As of now, the International Boxing Federation wants Joshua to face 36-year-old Kubrat Pulev (25-1, 13 KOs) after Joshua faces Wladimir Klitschko in a rematch.

The IBF has granted Joshua permission to take the fight with the 41-year-old Wladimir next, but they’ve given a deadline for when the fight has to take place by December 2 this year.

If Wladimir can’t make the rematch with Joshua until after that, then presumably the IBF would strip Joshua of his title. Joshua could beat them to it by vacating the title now and then focusing his attention on taking the fights that he wants to.

Joshua would need to fight Pulev in the first quarter of 2018. That’s not a fight that would attract a lot of interest in the UK, as Pulev has done very little to make himself into a star.

Pulev was knocked down in 5 rounds in a world title fight against Wladimir in 2014. He has since won his last 5 fights against largely journeyman level opposition with the exception of his fight with Dereck Chisora in 2016.

Hearn sees Joshua soon being bigger than the world titles. But for the time being, Joshua still wants to collect all the world title belts so that he can be the undisputed heavyweight champion.

For Joshua to do that, he’ll need to beat Wladimir in a rematch, and then defeat Pulev, WBC champion Deontay Wilder and WBO champion Joseph Parker.

“I have said before and I’ll say it again,” said Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn to skysports.com. ”We will not let politics get in the way of the progression of Anthony Joshua, of where we want to take Anthony Joshua, of where he wants to go, of what ground he wants to break. We have to be smart, of course follow the rules, accept the rules and make the right decisions for his career.”

*Photo shows IBF/WBA champion Anthony Joshua.

Source Daily Sports

Posted June 9, 2017