Former Finchley amateur Anthony Joshua will have to defend his IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO Heavyweight World Titles against mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev at Wembley Arena on Saturday.

Joshua was scheduled to face Bulgarian Pulev at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on June 20, but that was postponed due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Pulev has already been denied one shot at Joshua when he was forced to pull out of a world title clash with the Londoner, scheduled for October 28 2017, at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

A shoulder injury sustained in training weeks before that date saw the Sofia-born boxer replaced by Carlos Takam and his chance for glory was gone.

Saturday will see Pulev get his long-awaited opportunity against Joshua, who has not fought since he outpointed Andy Ruiz Jr last December.

Pulev entered a bubble ahead of this weekend’s heavyweight bout with Anthony Joshua earlier in the week after promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed the Bulgarian and his team have returned negative tests for Covid-19.

The 39-year-old, who boasts a record of 28-1, on Saturday re-posted a clip on Twitter of him having a swab taken to test if he had coronavirus.

Matchroom have finalised the undercard to Joshua-Pulev at the SSE Arena. Hackney cruiserweight Lawrence Okolie will now take on Poland’s Nikodem Jezewski after his original opponent Kzysztof Glowacki tested positive for Covid-19 last week.

Super-welterweight contender Kieron Conway had been prepared to face Souleymane Cissokho, but will do battle with fellow Englishman Macaulay McGowen.

Ramla Ali’s second professional fight against Vansea Caballero is no longer part of the show after Ali also returned a positive test for coronavirus.

Florian Marku, who signed a multi-fight deal with Matchroom in November, will be involved at Wembley in front of 1,000 fans in an eight-round contest against Alex Fearon.