The IBF have revealed the most likely date for an Anthony Joshua/Wladimir Klitschko rematch; October 28, 2017, and stated that the bout should take place no later than December 2, 2017.

The IBF’s announcement comes after the federation allowed an exemption to the clause that said the winner of Klitschko-Joshua would then have to fight mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev.

Well, now that looks like that will not happen anytime soon.

However, the IBF have re-entered the Pulev clause into the federations go ahead for the fight.

The Bulgarian and his team objected to the exception being granted with the IBF receiving a letter from Pulev’s management team.

Pulev, technically, was the next fighter Joshua would fight after he defeated Klitschko in April, and stated that if the rematch does go ahead as planned, then there will be no exceptions made if Joshua or Klitschko want to fight another boxer.

Eddie Hearn, AJ’s promoter, said that Joshua-Klitschko was definitely happening and they were waiting on the Ukrainian to decide whether to exercise his right to a return, or whether he wanted to retire.

Last night, the IBF outlined their specific conditions of the exemption, including the proposed date.

IBF Conditions of the Exemption

You can see the conditions below.

"If Wladimir Klitschko is unavailable for the rematch on October 28, 2017, the fight shall be staged no later than December 2, 2017.

"Kubrat Pulev is the next in line to fight the winner after the rematch. In the event the rematch does not occur prior to December 2, 2017 Anthony Joshua is to honor his mandatory commitment and fight Kubrat Pulev.

"After the rematch the IBF will not consider a request for unification from the winner.

"There shall be no further exceptions considered by the IBF regarding Anthony Joshua, or Wladimir Klitschko should he win the bout, prior to the completion of the mandatory bout with Kubrat Pulev.“

Venue For The Fight

According to Hearn, the fight has been pencilled in to take place at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

Nigeria had been mooted as a possible venue, but Hearn has admitted that staging a fight of this magnitude will be difficult in unfamiliar territory.

Hearn told journalists that although the prospect of Anthony Joshua fighting Wladimir Klitschko in Nigeria was intriguing, he was not looking to rock the boat and stated that Cardiff was his preferred location.

“The money we’re getting offered from other sites is huge, but that comes with problems,” he told us.

“It’s a new market for us, go and do an event in Lagos sounds great but operationally it’s very difficult. You have to look at money, is it there? Is it secure?

“Financially there’s much better offers than Cardiff but we know the UK is solid, we’ve prepared here before, it’s the same time zone, so we don’t really want to rock the boat.”