Eddie Hearn, promoter for IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, is still planning to move forward with plans to hold his fighter's next fight in December.
There is a tentative date of December 12 at the O2 Arena in London, for Joshua to make a mandatory defense against Kubrat Pulev.
The fight was initially planned for June 20 - but delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hearn had been hoping to have a small crowd of fans at the December event.
On Tuesday, a decision was made in the UK to further delay large gatherings due to a rise in coronavirus cases in the region.
Joshua Returns
The British Boxer has been out of the ring since December 2019 in Saudi Arabia, when he defeated Andy Ruiz to reclaim his world titles he lost back in June.
With or without a crowd, Hearn explains that Joshua must remain active in his career - and that means the British star will return to the ring behind closed doors.
"Obviously today’s announcement is a massive challenge for everyone in sport. Our intention now is carry on with all our scheduled events," Hearn told Daily Mail.
"Clearly the finances are affected by not having crowds, even smaller crowds, but we’re working to keep our schedule. That includes Joshua. You have two options - cancel or go ahead, quite possibly without a crowd.
"You’d still hope that by December you might have some back but you can’t plan on that now. We’ll go ahead in December for Joshua because it’s been a year since he fought Andy Ruiz and he needs to fight."
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