By Daily Sports on August 24, 2017

IBF/WBA heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (19-0, 19 KOs) is reportedly close to having a deal done to defend against his #1 IBF mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev (25-1, 13 KOs) for October 28, according to RingTV.com.

The deal is said to be near done for a fight between the two towering heavyweights in England. This is the first of two mandatory defenses the 27-year-old Joshua needs to get out of the way before he can get to the more lucrative fights against talents like WBC heavyweight champion Deontay “Bronze Bomber” Wilder, Andre “SOG” Ward and WBO champion Joseph Parker.

Joshua’s second mandatory defense is against undefeated #1 WBA Luis “King Kong” Ortiz. That fight will be taking place in early 2018, barring any injuries for the two fighters. Ortiz, 38, is going to sit patiently and wait for his turn at the 6’5” Joshua, who is coming off of an exciting war with Wladimir Klitschko on April 29.

Joshua won the fight by an 11th round TKO, but he didn’t look nearly as impressive beating Wladimir as Tyson Fury did in 2015. Wladimir exposed some huge holes in Joshua’s game that other contenders like Pulev and Ortiz will be looking to take advantage of.

If those 2 fighters don’t follow the Wladimir blueprint, then surely Deontay will be looking to take advantage of the flaws in Joshua’s game that were revealed.

Pulev, a 2008 Olympian from Bulgaria, is getting up there in age at 36-years-old. He failed in his previous world title challenger against Wladimir in 2014 in losing by a 5th round knockout. Pulev tasted the canvas repeatedly before the fight was halted in the 5th round on November 15, 2014.

•Photo shows Kubrat Pulev.

Source Daily Sports

Posted August 24, 2017

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