Joshua’s team put together five-man shortlist of potential replacement of Miller

Dumb move by Ortiz. He's already 64 years old, waiting for a full camp probably isn't gonna pay off

 

Charr would be dreadful. But maybe after he gets KO1'd, he'll **** off forever and we'll never have to hear from him again.

That sounds nice.

 

I hope hunter gets it. He’s in shape.

 

Just seen Sky bet (Sky sports) in the UK have a market open for Joshua vs Ortiz for 1st June as of a few hours ago. Make of that what you will.

Odds for anyone who's interested.

Joshua 1/10
Ortiz 6/1
Draw 33/1

 

As Ortiz and Kownacki have already bitched out of this fight, that only really leaves Hunter who would accept it

Pulev already turned down this work

 

it will be ortiz

 

Either Hunter or Ortiz would be okay.

I hope it's not Charr. It won't be Pulev because of his cut.

 

Of those only Ortiz poses some threat to Joshua. Pulev is another solid Top 10 choice.

Kownacki nowhere near ready for this but might be fun to watch him try.

 

Fight isn't till mid-June, so plenty of time to prepare. This is why I wouldn't count Pulev out if he's on the short list.

 

Ortiz camp saying he isn't ready. Not enough time??

 

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How Ortiz is not snapping the hand off for this fight is crazy. His career is on its last legs and has looked dreadful in his last couple of fights. He has bitched in the past about not earning enough money and people were mentioning he was still only fighting to pay his bills.

He now has an opportunity to fight for all of the belts which in all likelihood will not come around again for a minimum of 2 years due to unifications and mandatories.

He will likely be paid a minimum of $5m and only fought 6 weeks ago, how out of shape can he be.

All of the above points also apply to Kownacki, except he currently has zero name value at 30 years of age. If he gets called into a eliminator vs Parker or Whyte for a shot there is no gaurantee he wins bearing in mind he went life and death with Charles Martin. So why not take the fight now give a good showing and come again for a massive payday you will not see again or potentially pull off a major upset.

For me these two turning down the fights stinks of two things...

1. Haymon has them tied in to some kind of deal and is trying to ensure AJ does not fight a credible opponent. Gets low viewing figures and therefore they can firther argue the 50/50 split or lowball him on PPV in U.S

2. Which is far more likely... The guys know the first thing they have to do when taking the fight is drug testing. They have not had time to cycle off whatever is currently in their system and know they will pop. Ortiz has tested before and due to his age is likely on the juice between camps to keep him in shape being 100 years old. Kownacki is a teammate of Miller and it would not surprise me if they are on the same cheeseburger meat. If they pop they do not recieve the $5m+ and their careers are effectively over. Therefore makes sense to turn down the fight

 

Pulev’s promoter Bob Arum said to Boxing Social that he’s still suspended after his kissing incident after his recent victory over Bogdan Dinu. Pulev will have a hearing in mid-May.

 

not enough time to cycle off whatever PEDS are currently in his system. If he pops again his career is over.

 

Ortiz will come up with an excuse, as they all do