IBF Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua’s (17-0, 17 KO) next fight date has been revealed.
His promoter, Eddie Hearn, confirmed the date when he spoke to Sky Sports recently, but also stated that Joshua would not be boxing at the O2 Arena in London.
“November 26 is the date for your diary," Hearn said. "We are changing city. The opponent and venue will be confirmed in the next few weeks."
Joshua has fought his last five contests at the O2, winning the Commonwealth, British and IBF titles in that time. The 26-year-old is coming off of a seventh-round stoppage victory of Dominic Breazeale (17-1, 15 KO) in June.
As for who Joshua might face, Hearn said that there are three names in the running for the fight: Kubrat Pulev (23-1, 12 KO), Bermane Stiverne (25-2-1, 21 KO) and Joseph Parker (20-0, 17 KO). Liverpool’s David Price (20-3, 17 KO) has also thrown his hat into the ring, recently claiming that he floored Joshua in sparring a few years ago.
Parker is Joshua’s mandatory challenger, but he is set to fight Alexander Dimitrenko (38-2, 24 KO) on October 1 while negotiations for his fight against Joshua must begin in November, according to the IBF. Pulev and Stiverne do not yet have fights scheduled and the latter, a former WBC world champion, insists he has begun training just in case he does get the call.
This upcoming fight could also be used as a platform for Joshua to eventually start fighting in the United States after he recently signed a multi-fight contract with Showtime. Joshua is also a former Olympic gold medalist at the 2012 Olympics in the super heavyweight division.
