Anthony Joshua set for UK return at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Written by News on 10/12/2019
Anthony Joshua is set for a London homecoming to start his second reign as world heavyweight champion, with his next fight likely to take place at the recently-built Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Joshua reclaimed his WBA, WBO and IBF titles early Sunday with a unanimous points decision over Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia, having lost to the Mexican-American in New York in June for the first defeat of his career.
Now Joshua says “London’s calling” and promoter Eddie Hearn has admitted Spurs’ new 62,062-capacity home is an attractive prospect for the 30-year-old’s next bout in April-May, with Wembley off the table.
“The phone has gone crazy. It’s like, ‘bring him here, bring him here'”, Hearn said, sitting alongside Joshua in a restaurant on one of the top floors of a five-star hotel in Riyadh.
“They’ve seen what we’ve done here and there’s a lot of options internationally, but he does want to box back in the UK.
“We spoke to Spurs about hosting this fight (the rematch against Ruiz), which they were keen to do, but unfortunately the dates didn’t work out. They would be keen to do it and it would be a nice stadium to do it in London.”
Joshua has completed his first two overseas bouts, earning a reported £53.3m for fighting in Saudi Arabia, but the Watford-born heavyweight believes he “can’t lose” on home soil.
With Deontay Wilder expected to defend his WBC crown against Tyson Fury next in February 2020, Joshua will have to wait to unify the titles and become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world – but that is what he wants.
Joshua told Sky Sports News: “I’m ready. I’ve got my belts back and I’m ready to fight him. But I’m not looking too far into the future because it takes your eyes off what is in front of you.”
(c) Sky Sports 2019: Anthony Joshua set for UK return at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
