Wednesday 11 July 2018 12:17, UK
Hughie Fury is set to receive an IBF final eliminator after Jarrell Miller could not agree a deal with fellow heavyweight contender Kubrat Pulev.
The British heavyweight champion is the next available opponent in the IBF rankings for Bulgarian Pulev, who had won a purse bid for a final eliminator against New Yorker Miller.
But Miller's promoter Dmitry Salita revealed that talks broke down after Sofia was named as a likely location, leaving Fury in line for a fight with Pulev to decide the mandatory challenger for Anthony Joshua's IBF belt.
"We were trying for the fight to happen in the United States, or at the very least some kind of neutral territory, and we just couldn't make that deal," Salita exclusively told Sky Sports.
"Jarrell wants to fight the best fighters in the world and Pulev is a very good fighter, and we would consider that fight, just the location didn't work for us.
"Jarrell has demonstrated in his last few fights that he is willing to fight the best and he's stepped up. That's always been our goal.
"We'll explore other options, but I think we'll have something significant to announce soon."
The IBF had earlier confirmed that a 15-day period for Miller to accept or refuse the fight would end today.
Alexander Povetkin, ranked at No 4 by the IBF, is set to challenge Joshua in a WBA title fight, and Fury is next at no 5 to receive a fight with Pulev.
