Joshua has been ordered to defend his IBF belt against Kubrat Pulev and WBA championship against Luis Ortiz, something both organisations are frantically trying to work out, as explained to WBN recently.
WBA President Gilberto Mendoza had exclusively told WBN this over the weekend: “There is a legal loophole between the special permit and the sanctioning bodies rotation system.
“The AJ v WK super championship bout was approved conditioning the winner to box Luis Ortiz in he next bout. The special permit rules supersedes championships rules for special circumstances.
“Anyways, there is good understanding between IBF and WBA and I will discuss it with Daryl (Peoples, IBF President).”
Hearn then told The Daily Mail of his plans for 2018 after confirming Joshua will face one of his mandatory challengers, possibly Pulev first, in the coming months.
“The date will be the same – probably October 28 or November 11, because ideally we would like AJ to fight again in February or March so he can have three fights in 2018,” he said.
Pulev this year in Cardiff and Ortiz in the spring of next year could then lead Joshua into a massive unification with Deontay Wilder at Wembley Stadium should ‘AJ’ be successful in both, before a further mandatory defence at the back end of 2018.
