WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, will battle Kubrat Pulev – on Saturday 20th June at the home of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.
The fight will be Joshua's first since he regained his belts, in a unanimous points victory over Andy Ruiz Jr last December, in Saudi Arabia.
Pulev, who is the mandatory challenger for the IBF belt, has won 14 of his 29 fights by knockout – his only loss was at the hands of Wladimir Klitschko six years ago.
The 38-year-old last fought in November 2019, a unanimous points victory over Rydell Booker.
Joshua and Pulev were set to face each other in October 2017 but the latter pulled out of the contest, after injuring his shoulder while sparring.
Joshua, who is eight years younger than the challenger, kept his words short and sweet – after the fight was confirmed.
He said, "The belts will go back up in the air and nothing will stop me from being victorious."
The Bulgarian responded, "I am happy to have the opportunity to show the world how strong I really am.
"Becoming a heavyweight world champion has always been my mission in life and on 20 June I will fulfil my destiny."
Unsurprisingly, both promoters had differing views on who will win the heavyweight showdown.
Eddie Hearn, who represents Josuha, claimed this is a "must win" situation for his client.
"As we go into what I believe will be the biggest year of AJ's career so far, all our attention turn to Pulev.
"I think you are going to see something special from AJ – a destructive performance on the road to undisputed," he added.
His counterpart, Bob Arum, argued, "To get knocked out by the likes of Andy Ruiz means that Joshua is not elite, Pulev will knock Joshua out quicker than Ruiz did."
This will be the Hertfordshire's born bruiser's first fight in the United Kingdom since defeating Alexander Povekin at Wembley Stadium in September 2018.
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