Heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua and the IBF’s mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev could face each other in front of a crowd at a Roman Amphitheatre in Croatia, the Bulgarian’s manager has said.
The pair were due to meet at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on June 20 but the fight was put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, with a new fight date yet to be announced.
Last week, the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) said it hoped professional boxing could resume in July without spectators but promoter Eddie Hearn said Joshua would fight behind closed doors only as a “last resort”.
“We have given ourselves [the two camps] four weeks to look for a new territory if the situation and measures in England do not change,” Pulev’s manager Ivaylo Gotsev told local media after discussing the matter with Joshua’s camp.
“We are discussing Croatia, there is a unique Roman stadium — Pula Arena, there and we are in active talks.”
Gotsev also said that the fight would most likely take place in August or September.
The Roman Amphitheatre in the northern Adriatic city of Pula is well-known for hosting concerts of famous musicians such as Luciano Pavarotti, Sting and Elton John. Two ice hockey games were also played there in 2012.
“We like this option because it is in Europe, in the middle of the continent,” Gotsev added. “The arena itself predisposes to an unprecedented event in our time. There will also be an opportunity for spectators with the right measures taken.
“There needs to be a mutual agreement. We want the terms and conditions to be beneficial for both parties.
“They can’t meet in Bulgaria because Joshua will not agree. He wanted to fight at home but force majeure brought a change. Kubrat, however, was ready to fight in Joshua’s backyard, even if the judges were his family.”
Joshua, 30, reclaimed the WBA, WBO and IBF belts with a unanimous points win over Andy Ruiz Jr. in Saudi Arabia in December.
Joshua was initially due to fight Pulev at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium in October 2017 but the Bulgarian withdrew after suffering a shoulder injury in sparring.
Pulev, a former European amateur super-heavyweight champion, last challenged for the IBF world heavyweight title in 2014, losing to Wladimir Klitschko in Hamburg on a fifth-round knockout.