Eddie Hearn has provided some insight into the timeline that could see an undisputed heavyweight champion crowned for the first time this era.
We had originally hoped to see Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua fight over that undisputed status, in a bout which could have taken place in Saudi Arabia over the summer.
However, after a court of arbitration ordered Fury into fighting Deontay Wilder for a third time, any hopes of arranging a fight with Joshua were scuppered.
You know the rest, with AJ fighting WBO mandatory Oleksandr Usyk and losing. The pair will now be fighting again in the spring, with Fury keeping a watchful eye on developments.
In the meantime, it looks as though The Gypsy King has a tussle with Dillian Whyte to contend with. That’s the impression that Eddie Hearn has, anyway.
Hearn was answering questions on his Instagram live, with the clip of his heavyweight forecast having been uploaded to YouTube by iFL TV.
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“Fury will fight Dillian Whyte [next], Usyk will rematch AJ, and then probably the winners will fight, and then all the belts will get fragmented and then you’ll see a few more heavyweight champions.”
Hearn is the one actively pushing the idea of Fury vs Whyte coming to fruition, as you’d expect. Fury has now publicly commented on the prospect of facing his compatriot.
With Fury’s ultimate goal to heavyweight the division before calling time on his career, you imagine he’d be more than happy to fight Whyte, were the WBC to order him to do so (as is expected).