Anthony Joshua’s rematch with Wladimir Klitschko looks almost certain to happen

Anthony Joshua's rematch with Wladimir Klitschko looks almost certain to happen, according to Eddie Hearn.

The pair were involved in the best heavyweight bout for a very long time back in April at Wembley Stadium. Joshua stopped Klitschko in the 11th round, which preserved his unbeaten professional record and appeared to put the Ukrainian into retirement. However, it now looks like the 41-year-old will step back into the ring, and face off against Joshua again. Eddie Hearn, Joshua's promoter, says they are very close to confirming the rematch. "We’re looking at all the potential sites for the rematch. It’s not really a case of them having to let us know by a certain date. For us, it's happening," Hearn told Boxing News Online.

"Until [Klitschko] turns round and says 'no, I'm retiring,' we're full steam ahead. At the moment all I can tell you is that it’s happening because we haven’t heard otherwise."

Hearn also spoke about a potential venue for the rematch, as the bout will not take place at Wembley Stadium. Cardiff's Millennium Stadium is the most likely venue, despite better financial offers on offer elsewhere. "We're looking at America, Nigeria, Dubai or Cardiff," he said.

"Cardiff isn't the frontrunner financially. The money we're getting offered from other sites is huge, but that comes with problems. 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? 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."

The final stumbling block to overcome the rematch with Klitschko is Kubrat Pulev. The Bulgarian is the IBF mandatory challenger, but Hearn has applied for an exception for that bout, and is awaiting the IBF's decision.