THE IBF recently granted an exemption for their heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, to fight Wladimir Klitschko in a rematch and overnight revealed the proposed date for the clash.
After stopping Klitschko in 11 rounds in April, Joshua was required to face mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev but his team successfully applied for an exemption in order to pave the way for a rematch with Wladimir.
Last night the IBF outlined the specific conditions of the exemption, including the proposed date: “The IBF Board of Directors was advised that the issue had been resolved between the parties [Joshua’s and Pulev’s] with the following conditions:
- If Wladimir Klitschko is unavailable for the rematch on October 28, 2017, the fight shall be staged no later than December 2, 2017.
- Kubrat Pulev is the next in line to fight the winner after the rematch. In the event the rematch does not occur prior to December 2, 2017 Anthony Joshua is to honor his mandatory commitment and fight Kubrat Pulev.
- After the rematch the IBF will not consider a request for unification from the winner.
- There shall be no further exceptions considered by the IBF regarding Anthony Joshua, or Wladimir Klitschko should he win the bout, prior to the completion of the mandatory bout with Kubrat Pulev.“
Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, recently told Boxing News that the Joshua-Klitschko rematch “is happening.” They are awaiting the Ukrainian’s decision on whether he will exercise his right to a return, or if he will retire from the sport altogether, with his Hall of Fame legacy already secured.
Hearn had previously outlined October 28 date as a possible date for the fight, pencilling it in at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Hearn claims Nigeria is the current front-runner (financially) but is aware of the potential pitfalls of staging such an enormous fight in an unfamiliar territory.
“The money we’re getting offered from other sites is huge, but that comes with problems,” he told us.
“It’s a new market for us, go and do an event in Lagos sounds great but operationally it’s very difficult. You have to look at money, is it there? Is it secure?
“Financially there’s much better offers than Cardiff but we know the UK is solid, we’ve prepared here before, it’s the same time zone, so we don’t really want to rock the boat.”
