Anthony Joshua could be forced to vacate a world title if he is successful in his mega-fight with Wladimir Klitschko next Saturday. Joshua's IBF belt is on the line on April 29 at Wembley, as is the vacant WBA title. But in the same way that Tyson Fury was stripped of his IBF title in November 2015 for favouring a rematch with Klitschko over a clash with the IBF' s mandatory challenger, Joshua would likely face a headache if he becomes the unified champion. His IBF mandatory is Kubrat Pulev, with the requirement that they meet by a date in November, while the WBA are expected to mandate that he fights their No 1 challenger Luis Ortiz. Anthony Joshua could be forced to vacate a world title belt if he beats Wladimir Klitschko In weighing up the permutations if Joshua wins, his promoter Eddie Hearn said: ‘You're going to get the problem of multiple mandatories coming up. So after this fight, AJ's mandatory is Pulev with the IBF. At some point, maybe not next, but probably this year, the WBA mandatory will become Luis Ortiz. ‘Joshua will quite possibly (have to vacate a belt) unless a deal can be done. It's not really a concern right now. I'm not really concerned about belts. I'd love him to have all the belts, but as Tyson Fury found out, that's not really possible. ‘The same thing which happened to Tyson Fury could happen to AJ. His mandatory was due, he wouldn't fight his mandatory and he lost the belt. ‘It would be the same for Anthony Joshua and there would be no exceptions to the rule. If that is the case, we'll have to make the best decision for his future.'
