FILE PHOTO: Boxing – Andy Ruiz Jr v Anthony Joshua – IBF, WBA, WBO & IBO World Heavyweight Titles – Diriyah Arena, Diriyah, Saudi Arabia – December 7, 2019. Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge/File Photo
February 7, 2020
(Reuters) – World heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua wants his next fight to be in London in June and Tottenham Hotspur’s 62,000-seater stadium is the most likely venue, promoter Eddie Hearn said.
Briton Joshua, 30, defeated Mexican-American Andy Ruiz Jr in a December rematch in Saudi Arabia to win back his IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO titles.
Reports in British media say Joshua is close to agreeing a deal to face Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev, the IBF’s mandatory challenger.
“He (Joshua) wants to fight in London in June. We’re on the verge of making that happen now,” Hearn told Sky Sports. “Spurs is the front-runner and that’s what he’s asked me to do. We’ll be delivering that for him.
“We’ve had offers in from the Far East, Middle East, Africa, America, Turkey.
“He’s made it very clear to me, ‘I want to come home. I want to box in London next. I’ve been to Madison Square Garden, I’ve been to Saudi Arabia, bring me home. Forget the other offers.’”
Joshua last fought in London in September 2018 when he beat Alexander Povetkin at Wembley Stadium.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
