Arsenal have come up with a lucrative offer to stage Anthony Joshua’s fight with Kubrat Pulev, Eddie Hearn has revealed.
The late bid from Arsenal means it could be a straight shootout with north London rivals Tottenham in the battle to land the heavyweight clash which is set to take place this summer.
Joshua’s homecoming will be his first fight on British soil since September 2018, when he successfully stopped Alexander Povetkin at Wembley Stadium.
The Watford-born star travelled to New York to face Andy Ruiz Jr in his first professional fight overseas last June, where he was stunned by the Mexican-American at Madison Square Garden in his first professional career defeat.
He then set the record straight to win the rematch in Saudi Arabia and is now set to put his WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles on the line against Pulev.
Matchroom chief Hearn has confirmed a deal has been agreed “in principle” for the Bulgarian to travel to the UK, with a date and venue now set to be finalised.
Spurs have already hosted the NFL since their stadium was officially opened last April and now Hearn has challenged the Gunners to keep the pace with their competitors by landing the bout.
The 40-year-old Hearn said: “Tottenham is our preference, but we’re talking to Arsenal and they’ve come in and said, ‘How do we make this happen?’
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“I get the feeling that Arsenal and the Emirates would quite like to nick this and it would be like a little one-upmanship for them.”
This article was most recently revised and updated 3 years ago
