Joshua to face Wilder or Povetkin next
WBA orders British champion to sort out mandatory title defence against Russian in 30 days
>> LONDON: World heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua’s next fight is “very likely” to be against Deontay Wilder or Alexander Povetkin, promoter Eddie Hearn said on Friday.
Joshua unified the World Boxing Association, International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Organisation heavyweight titles by outpointing New Zealand’s Joseph Parker in Cardiff last weekend.
The Briton then i mmediately called out Wilder, who holds the World Boxing Council version of the heavyweight title, but a fight with the American — who like Joshua has an unbeaten professional record — may have to wait after the WBA ordered Joshua to enter into talks with mandatory challenger Povetkin.
“The WBA called the mandatory yesterday for AJ to face Povetkin next,” Hearn told Sky Sports.
“We have a 30-day window to negotiate — at this stage it means it’s very likely Anthony’s next fight will be between Wilder or Povetkin.”
Seemingly the only way Joshua could hold onto his WBA title and face Wilder next up was if the Russian agreed to a fight at a later date.
Povetkin, whose only defeat in a 35-fight professional career came against Wladimir Klitschko in October 2013, demonstrated his punching power with a brutal knockout of Britain’s David Price on the JoshuaParker undercard at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
World Boxing, Povetkin’s promoters, said on Twitter: “Povetkin is now a mandatory contender of @ anthonyfjoshua
“He was appointed by WBA. Now there are 150 days to arrange the fight, it must take place.
“Before the fight with Sasha [Povetkin], Joshua has no right to fight with anybody else. We have 30 days to negotiate@EddieHearn”.
Earlier, Wilder’s co-manager Shelly Finkel said the American was ready to face Joshua in the UK.
Finkel said: “We are really glad that Anthony Joshua said for the first time ‘I will fight Deontay next...’ and we believe he is a man of his word. Deontay accepts the challenge.
“We want to make it public that Deontay wants the fight... Deontay is ready to sign and come to the UK to fight this summer.”
Finkel said he would be prepared for the fight to go ahead at London’s 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium.
“Assuming it will be Wembley Stadium in the summer, we are ready, and if they are ready as they say they are, we want to get it done. We want the fight, they want the fight, the public wants the fight. There is nothing to stop it going ahead.”
Finkel, a veteran of the boxing scene, added: “When I had [Mike] Tyson and [Evander] Holyfield, I picked up the phone. That’s all we need to do here.
“We are ready. Let’s make the fight.”
ORGANISED CRIME
The interim president of the International Boxing Association (Aiba), Gafur Rakhimov, has strongly denied allegations that he supports organised crime.
In December, the US Treasury Department designated the Uzbekistan national as “providing material support” to the transnational criminal group Thieves-in-Law, which Washington says “originated in Stalinist prison camps”.
The Treasury Department said in a press release: “Rakhimov has been described as having moved from extortion and car theft to becoming one of Uzbekistan’s leading criminals and an important person involved in the heroin trade.”
The act of designating individuals generally means their US assets are frozen and American businesses are barred from dealing with them, the Department said.
Lawyers for Rakhimov said he was “deeply distressed” by the allegations and “each and every one of these allegations is entirely untrue”.
Rakhimov was named Aiba’s acting president in January after the removal of Wu Ching-kuo, the Taiwanese former chief accused of bringing the body to the brink of bankruptcy.