Kubrat Pulev vs Anthony Joshua bout may hold in May

Kubrat Pulev on Thursday appears to have confirmed that he will fight Anthony Joshua in Istanbul in May 2020.

The 38-year-old posted a link to an article which appears to claim that the much-anticipated fight will take place at the Vodafone Arena – home of Turkish football club Besiktas on his Facebook page.

The state-of-the-art facility opened in April 2019, and while it would be the stadium’s first boxing event – it has hosted NFL – and is due to host Rugby Union and a concert later this year.

Pulev, known as “The Cobra”, has an impressive 28-1 record in his career.

The Bulgarian article which Pulev posted claims that the fight will take place in Istanbul in May. The pair are due to fight this year, with Pulev being the mandatory challenger for Joshua’s IBF heavyweight title.

But Joshua’s camp is yet to make a statement as regards the fight.

The pair were due to clash at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium back in October 2017, but the Bulgarian had to pull out with injury and was replaced by Carlos Takam who Joshua defeated.

Joshua is thought to be keen to return to London for his next fight with the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium emerging as his preferred spot for the bout.

Pulev was last defeated by Wladimir Klitschko in Hamburg back in 2014. His most recent victory was over Rydell Booker in California on November 9.