Kubrat Pulev warns Anthony Joshua he will not step aside for Tyson Fury bout

Last updated on .From the section Boxingcomments49

Joshua was due to fight Pulev in 2017 before the Bulgarian withdrew with injury
Joshua was due to fight Pulev in 2017 before the Bulgarian withdrew with injury

Kubrat Pulev says he will not step away from his shot at the world heavyweight belts and warned Anthony Joshua "you either fight or vacate the title".

The Bulgarian is mandatory challenger for Joshua's IBF title but their planned bout on 20 June was postponed.

It led to talk of Pulev being paid to step aside so Joshua could face Tyson Fury for all four heavyweight belts.

"I can't understand why we are still postponing instead of fixing a date and venue and getting to work?" said Pulev.

"Enough is enough. I can't wait to win this fight.

"I see how people are afraid of me and are trying to face someone else before me. That's not how a real world champion should act."

Pulev was due to face Briton Joshua in 2017 but withdrew because of injury and was also in mandatory position when Joshua lost to Andy Ruiz Jr in June 2019.

Joshua holds the IBF, WBA and WBO belts and has talked of his desire to face WBC champion Fury, who is due to face Deontay Wilder for a third time when boxing returns following its shutdown because of the coronavrius pandemic.

It would appear the two British heavyweights will need to wait and win their respective fights with neither Wilder nor Pulev appearing likely to accept 'step-aside' money.

"I did it once when I didn't have to do it for Joshua to have his second match against Ruiz Jr. Everything was against IBF's rules, but I compromised," said Pulev.

"A year has passed and they always have a reason to postpone, not to fight against me. There are two options. You either fight or vacate the title."

When and where a contest between Joshua and Pulev can take place is unknown because of the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Pulev's manager has said venues - including a Roman amphitheatre in Croatia - were being discussed.

Pulev, one of Bulgaria's most popular sportsmen, suffered his only career defeat when he challenged for the IBF heavyweight title in 2014, losing to Wladimir Klitschko in Hamburg on a fifth-round knockout.

His record stands at 28 wins from 29 bouts, while Joshua has 23 wins from 24.

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49 comments

  • It's all very well saying let's just have one belt and I agree it makes some sense. However, some heavyweights are frozen out when there are 4 belts! If there is just 1 some might never get a shot. Not because they aren't good enough, but because they don't have the 'right' promoters or might be too dangerous to fight.

  • Just have a 'three in the ring' fight!

  • What a nothing story. Promoters need to know a fight will go ahead and that they can fill the venue with spectators before a fight can be arranged. A boxer shouting “you’re afraid of me” because the fight he wants isn’t going to happen tomorrow is a bit of a cliche.

  • David Windsor
    ....is Wilder in fact entitled to stymie Fury/Joshua anyway? So is Pulev relevent? Or are Pulev & Wilder talking about the real value of stepping aside?

    Would be interesting to know the truth about what these 4 really want?

    ~

    No, it wouldn't.

    It's not about the fighters - or the belts.

    The people Warren and Hearn care most about are....



    Warren and Hearn.

    Boxing is a mess.

  • @ Footyfan

    The fact you refer to Pulev twice as a joke fighter, shows you actually have very little knowledge of this weight division.

    Having watched him fight numerous times here in Sofia, I can assure you he has earned his position as mandatory challenger.

  • The fight no one wants to see!

  • To add on to my comment as much as we want to see the elites of the sport fight such as Fury vs AJ/AJ vs Wilder. We want to regularly see the top 10 below that level go at it to earn their spot. Ortiz vs Whyte, Povetkin vs Pulev, Uysk vs Whyte are fights I want to see. Only Whyte is doing this regularly whilst joke fighters like Pulev ruin the sport through taking the easy route to the big fights

  • Imagine that there's no rush to re-fix Pulev because Joshua hopes virus & postponement might somehow give a good enough legal reason to step around Pulev . But does it? And is Wilder in fact entitled to stymie Fury/Joshua anyway? So is Pulev relevent? Or are Pulev & Wilder talking about the real value of stepping aside?

    Would be interesting to know the truth about what these 4 really want.

  • Surely the solution here is to let Fury and Joshua unify the belts and then for Wilder and Pulev to be the first mandatory challengers.

  • Why would he! AJ is milking boxing fans for as much money as possible while he can under the influence of the parasitic Eddie Hearn

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