Top Rank promoter Bob Arum had informed WBN that there was no agreement in place for the mandatory fight.
This was due to Pulev wanting to take the fight out of the UK. The Hall of Famer spoke to WBN last Thursday, disclosing that Joshua vs Pulev, initially eyed for June 20 in London, was set to hit the IBF deadline on March 3rd.
“Anyone talking about an Anthony Joshua fight with Tyson Fury is very premature,” Arum exclusively told World Boxing News.
“Joshua has to fight Pulev and we have a big problem with the site. For Pulev and Joshua, the British Board are not being very co-operative.
“Pulev is now going to go to purse bid because he doesn’t want to fight in the United Kingdom.”
Asked to elaborate on why – Arum simply stated: “We are just not going to do the fight in the UK because we don’t get a level playing field.”