Nigerian-born world heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony Olaseni Oluwafemi Joshua has been hit with taunting words from his mandatory challenger, Kubrat Pulev, who declared that the three-belt holder has no choice but to fight him and our his unification ambitions on hold, megasportsarena.com reports.
While ‘AJ’ is eager to have a date with fellow-British heavyweight, Tyson ‘Gypsy King’ Fury in a much-awaited undisputed title tilt, Pulev insists he has a mandate before any other fight should be considered, and labeled Joshua a coward for skipping any plans for the mandatory defence.
Pulev went on to vow that he will now give up his mandatory challenge and promised to destroy Johsua’s hopes of an undisputed title fight with Fury, even as he accused the Nigerian-born two-time champ of being afraid to take him on before thinking about any other bout.
Indeed, the mandatory challenger is contracted to be Joshua’s next opponent in an International Boxing Federation (IBF) heavyweight title defence, while former World Boxing Council (WBC) belt holder, America’s Deontay ‘Bronze Bomber’ Wilder has the right to enforce a third title fight against Fury, who took his belt from him in their second of their mega fights.
Saudi Arabia, which staged Joshua’s rematch with Andy Ruiz Jnr on December 7, when the 2012 Olympic Games gold medalist regained the three belts he lost to the American-Mexican on June 1, 2019, have enquired about the possibility of them again hosting a future undisputed title fight between ‘AJ’ and Fury, but Pulev insists he will not step aside from his mandatory challenge.
Pulev told Sky Sports: “He can’t face Fury because he has signed a contract to fight me. Besides, in this same contract there are clauses featuring some serious compensations. In the meantime, Fury has a contract for a third fight with Deontay Wilder. Neither me, nor Wilder will give up on these fights.
“No matter how much Eddie Hearn tries to manoeuvre things and play his little games, I will come up against Joshua and I will beat him! It’s written in the stars. Mentality is something you were born with, you have it inside you. Joshua’s mentality, meanwhile, is a whole lot different and it was just a matter of time for him to lose.
“I’m way more precise than him as well as a much smarter boxer. And I will beat him. Brutally. I think it is obvious – because he’s afraid. I don’t see any other reason. We offered various destinations – from Istanbul to Las Vegas, New York or Saudi Arabia.
“Then I got the reply that Joshua would come up against me only in London. Otherwise there would be no fight at all. And of course, I agreed to this condition. I’m not concerned about the place. For example, I never asked for the fight to be in Sofia.
“From day one I wanted it to take place at a neutral venue as this would be fair to both sides. There’s no such thing as an ideal location for a true fighter. He can fight everywhere and he’s not worried about anything.”
