Mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev has insisted he will not step aside and let Anthony Joshua take part in a heavyweight title unification fight against Tyson Fury after he has previously accepted step-aside money instead of taking on the British-Nigerian boxer scuppering hopes of mega-money unification bout this year.
As per Dailymail, talks over a potentially huge fight between Joshua and Fury began between the two camps earlier this month, with reports suggesting The Gypsy King’s camp discussed the idea following his management team, MTK Global, reports to have broached the idea of a mega-money bout in the Middle East in December.
But both Fury and Joshua would need to get out of their contractual obligations to face Deontay Wilder and Pulev respectively as both would have the finances to do so on the back of what should be the biggest purses of their careers if they meet in the Middle East but IBF title mandatory challenger Pulev, who accepted a similar deal when Joshua fought Andy Ruiz Jr, is not willing to do the same again for the all-British encounter.
‘I wouldn’t accept it,’ the Bulgarian insisted, as reported by the Express, when he was pressed about the potential step-aside offer. I did it once when I didn’t have to do it for him to have his second match against Ruiz Jr. Everything was against IBF’s rules, but I compromised”, he said.
Pulev is meant to have an opportunity to take Joshua’s titles at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on July 25 as they were originally meant to meet in October 2017 before various delays and other clashes meant the fight was moved to June 20 – before the coronavirus outbreak postponed it.
