Joshua v Miller - June 1st NYC

[smashup]

Surely Dillian Whyte deserves a shot and for me deserves it.
Would he take it at 5 weeks notice though?
Knowing Whyte he would probably jump at the chance.
I don't see who else can step in to make it an interesting fight.
Ideally Hearn would want a American fighter I'd have thought.

[smashup]

Hunter, Pulev, Ortiz or Whyte.
Gotta be one of these 4 surely.

[smashup]

MICHAEL HUNTER
An American. Already training for a fight on May 25 and has thrown his hat into the ring. Strong consideration.

ADAM KOWNACKI
The top candidate of the moment due to Brooklyn, New York ties. Also, unlikely to be chosen for an opportunity outright.

Therefore, Kownacki’s best chance of getting a title shot without being mandatory would be to snap Eddie Hearn’s hand off should the contract come his way.

Kownacki at 19-0 is highly-ranked, but could still be at least two years away from being a stipulated challenger to Joshua.

LUIS ORTIZ
A known name in New York due to three fights in the last four years at MSG and Barclays, Ortiz would be a good fit to call upon. It’s a bonus that Ortiz is also a former Deontay Wilder foe, which would give Joshua the chance to better his American rival’s tenth round stoppage in 2017.

OSCAR RIVAS
As Eddie Hearn is currently working with promoter Bob Arum on Terence Crawford v Amir Khan, Rivas may come up in conversations to face Joshua. Rivas is on form and scored a career-best triumph in Verona against Bryant Jennings in January.

SERGEY KUZMIN
Has ties to Matchroom Sport and recently fought in the USA three times. The only downfall is Kuzmin is not American.

ARTUR SZPILKA
The Pole has ties to New York in the past. Has fought at both MSG and Barclays. Szpilka was leading Deontay Wilder on points when wiped out in the ninth round.

CHRIS ARREOLA
Holds two victories on the spin. Is American and will travel.

JERMAINE FRANKLIN
Fought last weekend and won. Due to being outside the Top 15 rankings, Franklin would be able to lobby with the WBA, IBF, IBO or WBO to be rated in May if an opportunity to fight Joshua presented itself.

Franklin is also linked to Miller’s promoter Dmitriy Salita and cannot be ruled out.

TREVOR BRYAN
The current WBA interim champion and holds a United States passport.

These names would be doubtful:

DILLIAN WHYTE
A former Joshua opponent, Whyte has been calling for his shot for a long time. But would he take the fight on six weeks’ notice? – It’s doubtful. There’s also the fact that Whyte is not a major name in the United States to contend with. Fans have bought tickets to see an American opponent or at least someone with stateside form.

BRYANT JENNINGS
Suffered a defeat to Oscar Rivas recently or may well have been in the frame.

JOHANN DUHAUPAS
The Frenchman lost his last fight. Otherwise, he may have had a chance on the back of a solid effort against Wilder in 2015.

ROBERT HELENIUS
A lack of United States activity sees the Finn out of contention despite three victories on the bounce.

AGIT KABAYEL
The undefeated European champion but with no form at all on US soil.