It should come as no surprise at this point, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to clear out boxing's slate of events.
On Friday, Matchroom Boxing announced that Anthony Joshua's unified world heavyweight championship defense against mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev has been postponed. The heavyweight tilt was supposed to take place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday, June 20.
Matchroom previously had a tentative rescheduled date of July 25 in mind; however, no date was mentioned in its release Friday, as the uncertainty of COVID-19 seemingly grows by the day. That being said, Matchroom Boxing, which AJ fights under, says it's working in association with Top Rank, which reps Pulev, to iron out a new date.
The announcement comes just as Matchroom Boxing USA president Eddie Hearn spoke about the possibility of Joshua fighting WBC champion Tyson Fury for undisputed glory once the coronavirus subsides. For that to come to fruition, Deontay Wilder and Pulev would need to accept step-aside deals, respectively. After suffering a seventh-round TKO loss to Fury in February, Wilder activated his rematch clause and was supposed to face the "Gypsy King" this summer, before the coronavirus outbreak pushed that back to at least the fall.
Still, Hearn optimistically maintains the sliver of hope that Joshua vs. Fury can be done sooner than expected.
"I think a lot of it depends on Deontay Wilder," Hearn told Sky Sports about the former WBC titleholder. "If he's willing to take that step-aside money. That's a conversation to be had with Bob Arum and Al Haymon to see if that's even possible.
"If it was possible and there was a way to make Kubrat Pulev wait, which I think is probably an easier job, then for sure, I think Anthony Joshua would be extremely interested in moving straight into the Tyson Fury fight," he continued. "I think in an ideal world, we have that fight next."
The 30-year-old Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) regained his unified world heavyweight titles with a unanimous decision over Andy Ruiz Jr. in December. The 38-year-old Pulev (28-1, 14 KOs) has won eight straight fights since suffering a knockout loss to Wladimir Klitschko in November 2014.