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The much-anticipated fight between Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev will come up at London’s 02 Arena on December 12. This was disclosed by Eddie Hearn, the Match-room promoted.

Daily Mail quoted the promoter as saying that the bout was initially due to take place in June at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but that the coronavirus pandemic forced the contest to be postponed. However, a new date has now been set. 

“Yes, December 12 at the O2 is the plan for AJ,” Hearn told Boxing Scene.

Meanwhile, Epic Sports promoter, John Wirt, who co-promotes Pulev with Top Rank, added: “We are happy that the fight appears to be back on track and that we have new date and site.

“There is still some tweaking to do on the contract but we are optimistic it should be concluded this week.”

The heavyweight boxing calendar appears to be taking shape as Tyson Fury’s third clash with Deontay Wilder could take place a week later, according to talkSPORT.

The much-anticipated showdown reportedly could be held on December 19, which could pave the way for the Battle of Britain between Joshua and Fury in 2021. 

The financial terms for the two blockbuster fight to unify the heavyweight division has been agreed but both Pulev and Wilder could upset the plan.

Meanwhile, Oleksandr Usyk’s team are determined to ensure Joshua obeys WBO rules so that the pair will meet in the ring.

Usyk would be the mandatory challenger to the WBO heavyweight belt held by Joshua, should he beat Dereck Chisora in his upcoming fight. The pair could meet in the ring on October 31.

Owing to what is turning a diplomatic row between Nigeria and Ghana, Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria, has headed to Ghana on the permission of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Gbajabiamila secured the permission of President Buhari to visit Ghana as part of measures to resolve the crisis involving Nigerian traders and indigenes of the West African country.  

Shortly before leaving for Ghana, the speaker told State House Correspondents that he was embarking on “Legislative Diplomacy”, a journey over the closure of Nigerian shops in that country.
Gbajabiamila had last week said the closure of Nigerian shops in Ghana contravened the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) trade protocols and had called for a decisive solution between both countries.
“It’s usual engagement like we always say when issues come up, I see Mr. President and find out and run things by him and we discuss issues. 

“One of the issues we discussed today, I’m leaving for Ghana tomorrow to meet with the speaker of the parliament in Ghana to look at the issues on the ground, as it affects our citizens, and to try and calm things down and see if there’s a way forward.
“I’ll meet with the speaker tomorrow, I informed the president and he’s aware of every single step that we are taking, all the way and we hope that we’ll come to an amicable settlement one way or the other. 
“It’s called legislative diplomacy, if you remember very well, during the days when I was Leader of the House, I lead the delegation to South Africa during the crisis there with Nigerians and we were able to accomplish quite a bit, to simmer things down at that time,” he stated.
He said Nigeria would not make any special demand from Ghana.

“No demands; we just going to discuss in the spirit of African Parliaments and we’ll be looking at issues from time to time as they affect African countries and this is one of them.”
Also asked about his opinion on the situation in Ghana at the moment, Gbajabiamila said all that was important was finding solutions to the prevailing crisis. 
“I don’t want to make any statement at this time so that we don’t exacerbate matters. As I said, we are looking for amicable solutions. 
“The Ghanaians have their take on what’s going on, we have our own take. We’ll see how we can marry the two takes and come to a solution. 
“We are two strong West African countries and there must be symbiosis, we must work together. You don’t get anything from working at cross purposes or knocking heads together. 

“We must, at all times, as Africans, work as best as possible together and that’s what this my trip is about,” he noted. 
Recall that in recent times, the Ghanaian authorities had stood aloof while its citizens disrupted businesses owned by Nigerians. 
Sources who have been following the development have linked it to the shutting down of the Nigerian borders, an act that is believed to have negatively impacted on Ghana and other neighboring countries. 
The Federal Government had ordered the closure of the nation’s borders owing to security reasons, including the nefarious activities of saboteurs.