Anthony Joshua branded a 'coward' by Kubrat Pulev in sinister Tyson Fury message
Anthony Joshua is scheduled to defend his unified heavyweight titles against Kubrat Puelv in the summer.
Kubrat Pulev has branded Anthony Joshua a 'coward' for refusing to fight him outside of the UK. Unified heavyweight champion Joshua is tentatively set to defend his belts against Bulgaria's Pulev at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on July 25.
The pair's meeting was initially scheduled to take place on June 20 but was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Joshua's clash with the former world title challenger, whom he was meant to face in October 2017, will be his first outing on British soil in nearly two years.
According to Pulev, multiple countries wanted to stage the contest but Joshua was adamant the bout must take in the UK.
Pulev is more than happy to face Joshua in his own backyard but has interpreted his opponent's reluctance to fight outside of the UK as a sign of weakness.
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He's afraid.
"I think it is obvious - because he's afraid," Pulev told Sky Sports. "I don't see any other reason [to demand it happen in London].
"We offered various destinations - from Istanbul to Las Vegas, New York or Saudi Arabia.
"And then I got the reply that Joshua would come up against me only in London.
"Otherwise, there would be no fight at all. And of course, I agreed to this condition.
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"I'm not concerned about the place. For example, I never asked for the fight to be in Sofia.
"From day one I wanted it to take place at a neutral venue as this would be fair to both sides.
"There's no such thing as an ideal location for a true fighter. He can fight everywhere and he's not worried about anything. Picking a certain destination is for cowards. For those who prefer to talk a lot rather than act.
"I can think of at least two others who fit this description and who have refused to come to Sofia to face me - Dillian Whyte and Jarrell Miller."
Joshua's representatives are currently in exploratory talks over a heavyweight title unification fight with his WBC counterpart Tyson Fury.
But in order for the long-awaited Battle of Britain to come to fruition, both Pulev and Deontay Wilder will have to agree to sit on the sidelines.
Pulev doesn't seem content to do so, though he is set on emphatically ending talk of Joshua locking horns with 'The Gypsy King'.
"I'm way more precise than him as well as a much smarter boxer," he added. "And I will beat him. Brutally."