LOS ANGELES. — Promoter Eddie Hearn hopes the lure of Las Vegas on November 11 will secure the signature of Wladimir Klitschko for a rematch with two-belt world heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua on his USA debut.

Hearn has already applied for a Nevada promotion licence for the contest — the T-Mobile Arena is booked for the date — with the possibility that it could even be a week later on November 18.

Hearn confirmed that he and unbeaten Joshua had “met with the MGM, met with the T-Mobile Arena”, with Sin City now the clear front runner to host the second meeting between the pair after Joshua stopped the veteran world champion in the 11th round at Wembley Stadium in April.

“November 11 is the date that’s pencilled in,” confirmed Hearn.

“We’ve got a couple of weeks to get everything over the line.”

That means the 41-year-old Ukrainian accepting, but Hearn is confident of an imminent announcement.

“I believe Wladimir Klitschko is going to take this fight and I really think Vegas will be the one,” Hearn added.

According to Stephen Espinoza, head of broadcasters Showtime Sports, which has an exclusive television deal in the United States with Joshua, a decision is expected “pretty quickly”.

“It’s no secret we’ve been salivating about getting him (Joshua) over here and certainly that would be a phenomenal fight. It would be the biggest heavyweight Vegas fight in probably a couple of decades, so we would love to host it,” Espinoza told US outlet Boxing Scene.

“It’s mega-fight wherever it is. For my money, it was the fight of the year so far. It was a star-making performance and for many here in the US, it was their introduction to Anthony Joshua. It is beginning to whet their appetite for seeing more.”

If Klitschko opts for retirement, Joshua’s opponent will be the International Boxing Federation mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev of Bulgaria. — The Telegraph.

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