IBF World Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. (Photo : Getty Images)
The camp of British heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua (16-0, 16 KOs) is reportedly planning a future title fight in China and the current IBF World Heavyweight champion could face Chinese boxing star Zhang Zhilei (8-0, 5 KOs) at the Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing when that happens.
Joshua's promoter, Barry Hearn of Matchroom Sport, said that the team is "interested" in holding a title defense for their client at the Chinese capital city two years from now as they want to make the Briton a "global star", as reported by Boxing News 24.
The report mentioned that aside from the said plan, the team is already negotiating on a television deal with Showtime for the media giant to televise the 26-year-old Joshua's fights in the United States moving forward.
Zhang, 33, had already met Joshua in the ring, during the 2012 London Olympics' Super Heavyweight boxing competitions when the Briton won by a score of 15-11. Joshua went on to win the gold medal that year.
"When you plan someone's career like Joshua you tend to plan in advance and I think we're two years away from saying we can sell out the Bird's Nest in China," Hearn told SkySports. "I think Joshua's going to be a global figure, and therefore I've got to give him a global platform. I was in Shanghai last week and we were talking. As soon as you show people pictures of Joshua knocking someone out, they get excited."
The Watford, England native won the IBF title by knocking out former champion Charles Martin in the second round of their scheduled 12-rounder at the O2 Arena in London on April 9th of this year.
His first title defense is scheduled on June 25th also in the same venue against American Dominic Breazeale. The match will also be a 12-round title fight.
Aside from the IBF belt, Joshua is also currently holding the WBC International, British, and Commonwealth Heavyweight titles. He won the vacant British Heavyweight crown against fellow Briton Dillian Whyte in a round seven TKO win in December of last year while he snagged the Commonwealth Heavyweight belt in May of last year versus another one of his countrymen, Gary Cornish, in a first round TKO victory.
Joshua had the vacant WBC International title back in October of 2014 when he defeated Russian Denis Bakhtov via a second round TKO win.
