British heavyweight Anthony Joshua will have to refocus his training after it was announced that he will face a new opponent – Carlos Takam – in the world title fight on 28 October. Takam, a Cameroonian-French boxer, has been drafted in to replace the injured Kubrat Pulev.
Pulev has withdrawn because of a shoulder injury, meaning that Takam, who is next in line in the IBF rankings, will step up to face Joshua in front of 70,000 fans at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
When Joshua puts his IBF and WBA titles on the line he will be favourite to extend his winning record, which stands at 19 knockout victories from 19 fights.
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Takam, who is 36, has a record of 35 wins, three losses and one draw from his 39 professional fights. The boxer was on stand-by in case Pulev failed to recover in time.
Quoted by the BBC, promoter Eddie Hearn said: “I received a call from [promoter] Kalle Sauerland to inform me that Pulev had injured his shoulder and may be ruled out of the fight – this was later confirmed by his doctor. IBF rules state that the mandatory will go to the next fighter in line, which is Carlos Takam.
“When the Pulev fight was announced I made a deal with Takam’s team to begin camp and be on stand-by for this fight. When I called them they were overjoyed and good to go.”
Joshua’s previous bout was the sensational victory over Wladimir Klitschko in April, but despite the late change in fighter, Hearn says the Brit will be ready to face his new opponent.
“Having prepared meticulously for the style and height of Pulev, he now faces a completely different style and challenge in Takam,” said Hearn.
“This hasn’t happened in his career before but he is ready for all comers on 28 October.”
In an interview with IFL TV, Hearn said Joshua had been ‘p***ed off’ on hearing the news of Pulev’s withdrawal.
Hearn said: “He [Joshua] had the disappointment of the Wladimir Klitschko rematch [that did not happen], then Pulev falling through… he was a bit p***ed off to be honest with you.
“But he knows Takam, he quite rates him, and knows he’s tough so he knows it’s a real fight.”
