On the back of Joshua’s handler Eddie Hearn making a public statement in the UK press, Margules has followed suit by confirming ongoing talks on the back of an earlier statement from Martin’s manager Mike Borao last week.
As Martin scouted a massive first defence if his belt, Borao told WBN on February 5: “I can confirm that Charles Martin is willing to fight Joshua April 9 in London.
“Charles wants to make a statement in his first defense and wanted a Wilder or Fury unification. Both are busy with mandatory and contracted fights with Povetkin and Klitschko, so Joshua is the next best thing.
“Joshua is immensely popular in the UK and a fight with Martin makes a lot of sense, I believe.”
On whether contact had been made between the two teams at that time, Borao added: “Fighters respective promoters have spoken and we have a ton of respect for Joshua as a fighter and Eddie Hearn has done an amazing job promoting him.
“Hopefully, it can happen. If not, we have plenty of options on the table.”
When contacted regarding Hearn’s comments that the fight can happen on April 9 in London, Margules told World Boxing News on Tuesday night: “We are working on a fight between Charles Martin and Anthony Joshua, but as it stands a deal is far from done.”
Joshua, 26, is 15-0 in the paid ranks since his Olympic gold medal-winning efforts at London 2012 and has stopped all his opponents so far within seven rounds. Current belt holder Martin is also undefeated through his 24 contests, with the 29 year-old’s only blemish being a highly controversial four-round draw with journeyman Alvaro Morales in 2013.
Any outcome either way for Martin v Joshua, which could happen in just under two months’ time, is likely to be swift due to the timescale involved.
