Eddie Hearn insists Anthony Joshua will not defend his world titles against Kubrat Pulev despite coronavirus disrupting sporting events around the world.
Joshua, who holds the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO belts, is set to defend his titles against the stubborn Bulgarian at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on June 20.
All sporting events in Italy have now been suspended in addition to key Six Nations games and the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.
Hearn remains confident that all upcoming fights, including Joshua’s, will go ahead as planned, but admits the situation may be taken out of his hands.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: "We've got quite a busy schedule coming up, so we hope that it can be contained and business as usual.
"For me, boxing is unique in many ways, particularly in terms of the role that the fans play in making a fighter peak in a very important moment in their career.
"I cannot see how we can stage a fight behind closed doors with no crowd. Can you imagine Anthony Joshua walking to fight Kubrat Pulev in front of you and me and Adam Smith? It's just not going to happen.
"Could you imagine Derek Chisora fighting Oleksandr Usyk behind closed doors and laying him out with a punch from the gods and standing on the turn buckle to see no-one?
“The crowd are so integral to the dramatic aspect of the sport of boxing, and in terms of being a TV product.
"For me, it's very difficult to do behind closed doors.”
