Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has outlined Anthony Joshua's three-fight plan to unify the heavyweight division after Wladimir Klitschko announced his retirement from the sport on Thursday.
It was rumoured that a deal was close for a rematch on November 11 in Las Vegas between the pair but those plans have been shelved as Klitschko has decided to step away from the sport with his reputation enhanced after their bout in April 2017.
Hearn was speaking to IFL TV yesterday about where Matchroom boxing and ‘AJ’ would go from here,
The short to mid-term plan for us is, October or November, Pulev. February or March, Ortiz. Summer, Deontay Wilder. That is my current three fight plan for Anthony Joshua, box these mandatories off, win another belt.
Kubrat Pulev, a Bulgarian fighter whose record stands at 26-1, and his only loss came in a brutal knockout by Klitschko in 2014. However, Pulev has won five straight fights since that loss, making him the mandatory challenger for 'AJ’s' IBF title.
Luis Ortiz, a Cuban fighter whose record stands at 27-2 has two blemishes on his record as a result of two no contests. In September 2014 Ortiz won the interim WBA heavyweight title against Lateef Kayode but he was later stripped of the belt after the 38 year old failed a drugs test.
Deontay Wilder holds the prestigious WBC Heavyweight title and is unbeaten in 38 fights, 37 of them have come by knock-out.
If Joshua can rattle off his two mandatories against Pulev and Ortiz, it will set up a mouthwatering bout in the summer of 2018 against Wilder in Las Vegas to unify the division.
The heavyweight division has not been in a better and more competitive position since 2003, when Lennox Lewis defeated Vitali Klitschko to retain his WBC and IBO titles.
Watch Hearn outline the politics of boxing and his future plans for the heavyweight champ below,
