Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko Reportedly in Doubt over WBA Sanctioning

Anthony Joshua's heavyweight clash with Wladimir Klitschko reportedly needs to be approved by Thursday with the WBA yet to give the green light for the bout for Tyson Fury's vacant title. 

The news comes via the MailOnline's Riath Al-Samarrai:

According to Al-Samarrai, Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn said:

"

About a week ago, along with Wladimir Klitschko's team, we wrote to the WBA to ask if they would sanction a fight between Joshua and Klitschko.

We're still waiting to hear from them. It is now at the point where we really need to hear something from them in the next 24-48 hours.

Klitschko has told us that he wants to fight for the WBA world title and so we are at quite an important stage.

From our point of view we would fight Klitschko for any belt on the table whether that’s IBF, WBA or any other belt out there.

"

Per BBC Sport, Fury recently vacated his titles after admitting taking cocaine, and he is now seeking "medical treatment and recovery."

Hearn also spoke to iFL TV's Kugan Cassius about the wait for the WBA to sanction the fight:

As a result of the difficulties in confirming the bout, the Ukrainian's camp are reportedly working on contingency plans, per ESPN's Dan Rafael:

Joshua is among the most exciting rising stars in the heavyweight division and won the IBF world title in April over Charles Martin before successfully defending it against Dominic Breazeale in June.

Those fights took the 2012 Olympic gold medallist's professional record to 17-0, with every fight won via knockout.

The legendary Klitschko has had a long and successful career with an incredible 64-4 record including 53 knockouts.

Sebastian Konopka/Associated Press

He held the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO and Ring belts concurrently before losing them to Fury in November last year, his last fight and his first defeat since 2004.

If the two can face one another in the ring it will likely prove a mouthwatering clash. Sky Sports' Adam Smith and Johnny Nelson would relish the prospect of the two facing off:

So too would fellow heavyweight David Haye, who believed the fight to be confirmed already:

For Klitschko, an exciting up-and-comer like Joshua would be a strong choice of opponent following his defeat to Fury.

At 40 he likely doesn't have many fights left in him, it's a bout that would be highly anticipated and would give him a shot at regaining his IBF and potentially WBA titles.

As for Joshua, his desire to test himself against the best the sport has to offer is understandable, though it's arguable it will come too early in his career.

Klitschko is a significant step up from the fighters he's faced thus far—according toBoxRec.com, he is the world's No. 1 heavyweight while Joshua is yet to fight someone in the top 15.

For the time being, it appears the bout is in the WBA's hands.