Kubrat Pulev to donate half of purse from Anthony Joshua fight to coronavirus relief

The Bulgarian was due to face IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO champion on June 20 before the fight was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic

Kubrat Pulev, right, will take on Anthony Joshua, left, for the WBO, WBA, and IBF world heavyweight titles. PA

Kubrat Pulev has said he will donate half of his purse from the heavyweight title fight against Anthony Joshua to the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

The 38-year-old Bulgarian was due to face IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO champion Joshua at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on June 20 before the fight was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

When the two eventually face off in the ring, it has been reported Pulev will earn over £4 million (Dh18m) from the fight.

A new date has yet to be scheduled, but the fighter with a 28-1 record has vowed to make a donation to help fight the spread of the disease.

"I donate 50 per cent to the tireless heroes in the fight against coronavirus," he told German newspaper Bild. "To nurses, hospitals and for the purchase of state-of-the-art medical equipment in the fight against the devilish virus."

Pulev's only career defeat came to then heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in 2014.

Joshua, meanwhile, reclaimed his three world titles plus the IBO strap after his comfortable points win over Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia in December having lost the belts in a sensational stoppage loss to the Mexican-American in New York last June.