Anthony Joshua: Heavyweight star given ultimatum over Kubrat Pulev title defence

- Anthony Joshua has been given ultimatum to agree terms over fight with Kubrat Pulev

- The British boxer defeated Andy Ruiz in December 2019 to reclaim his heavyweight belts

- Joshua was immediately mandated to defend his WBO and IBF world titles against Usyk and Kubrat Pulev within 180 days

World heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, has been handed an ultimatum to agree terms over title defence showdown against Kubrat Pulev or be stripped of his belts by the boxing governing body.

Joshua defeated Mexican champion Andy Ruiz in December 2019 in Saudi Arabia on unanimous points decision to reclaim his heavyweight belts.

The British fighter was immediately mandated to defend his WBO and IBF world titles against Usyk and Bulgarian star Kubrat Pulev within 180 days.

And according to emerging reports, Joshua has now been mandated to defend his IBF belt against the Bulgarian heavyweight star, with the boxing body giving him January 31 ultimatum to accept terms over Pulev fight.

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"I have just been told that the Pulev and Joshua camps have asked until January 31 to negotiate," they told Sky Sports.

Earlier, Joshua's promoter Hearn disclosed that the 30-year-old champ would first defend his IBF belt and that will be in April 2020 against the Bulgarian.

"I believe his next fight will be in April, and my gut feeling is it will be against Kubrat Pulev," Hearn told BoxingScene.

"Joshua doesn't want to vacate the belts. He loves them. We need to have a conversation of common sense between the governing bodies.''

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that Anthony Joshua has fired a stern warning to Oleksandr Usyk, suggesting that another heavyweight showdown with the Ukrainian star is a 2020 reality.

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Relishing the challenge of a possible fight against WBO's mandatory challenger Usyk, the 30-year-old heavyweight champion believed he would defeat the Ukraine star.

Joshua also boasted he would be happy to add the former unified cruiseweight champion to his resume of boxing champions he has defeated.

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Source: Legit.ng