By Ryan Burton

There has been a lot of speculation as to who will face WBA/WBO/IBF/IBO champion Anthony Joshua on June 1st in New York.

The British fighter was scheduled to face Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller at Madison Square but Miller failed three different PED tests and was subsequently denied license by the New York State Athletic Commission.

Names such as Luis Ortiz, Michael Hunter and as of yesterday Andy Ruiz Jr. have been mentioned as possible candidates.

Ortiz is by far the biggest name of the bunch and would be the most high profile bout possible on short notice for Joshua’s United States debut.

The Cuban has won three fights in a row since getting stopped by Deontay Wilder last March. In that fight Ortiz nearly had the WBC champion out on his feet before being stopped in the 10th round.

However, negotiations to make the Joshua-Ortiz were unsuccessful as Ortiz’s main promoter said they were insulted by what they called a lowball offer by Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn.

“After 5 days of BS we declined all of Hearn’s lowball offers and we are tired of his games. I know the magnitude of this fight. I wasn’t going to let Hearn bully me. Especially when I know they need Luis l. I mean who else could they really have to fight and that the public was willing to pay for?” Jorge Carmenate of Dade Promotions told BoxingScene.com.

“Listen, I like Joshua. I want him to continue to do good but I don’t see eye to eye with Hearn. He’s a cheat. I’m done with him. Hearn is a joke, go take advantage of some other fighter on short notice. I’m done with the games. My fighter is a top 3 heavyweight. Treat him like one.”

Even without Joshua the hard hitter has other options available. A potential rematch against Wilder could take place in the fall along with fights against Ruiz, popular Pole Adam Kownacki who like Ortiz all fight under the Premier Boxing Champions banner.

“With Al Haymon I never have these money issues. He knows how to treat people fair,” Carmenate stated.

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