Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn has put the pressure on Anthony Joshua ahead of the boxer's fight with Kubrat Pulev.
The 39-year-old Bulgarian is Joshua’s mandatory IBF challenger, and the pair of them are set to meet on Dec. 12 to contest the British boxer’s belts.
Joshua won back his IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO titles from Andy Ruiz Jr. in a rematch in Saudi Arabia almost exactly a year before the scheduled Pulev-Joshua bout, and is the heavy favourite. Nonetheless, Joshua’s promoter Hearn is clear on why the fight has to go ahead.
“It has crossed my mind, 'Do we need to be taking this fight,' and it’s like yes we do, because we have to stay active,” Hearn told the Ak & Barak show, after Joshua’s year away from the ring.
Hearn admitted that boxing fans may not yet be fully convinced by the 32-year-old four-belt champion after his earlier slip-up against Ruiz, and claimed that a win against Pulev would be necessary to change doubters’ minds.
“The reason why Pulev is in the discussion for AJ is because the world wants to know if his loss at MSG against Ruiz was a fluke.”
He also believes that the time away from competitive boxing has not been wasted, giving Joshua the chance to work on his game.
Hearn explained: “Anthony Joshua is learning so much and improving his craft. This upcoming fight with Pulev is a fun challenge for AJ because of the difference of the styles and lets AJ improve.
“I can guarantee though that every fight AJ has had from [Alexander] Povetkin to Ruiz to Pulev are all helping him become a much better fighter. He is definitely only getting better and better from here."
The ultimate aim for Joshua and Hearn remains the same though — the proposed 2021 unification fight between his fighter and Tyson Fury. Depending on Oleksandr Usyk’s demands, it's a fight that could see the winner hold every top level heavyweight belt.
A 2021 fight largely depends on Joshua and Fury winning their own next fights, and Hearn was clear about the pressure riding on the Pulev match-up.
“If we can’t beat Kurbat Pulev, we can’t beat Tyson Fury.”