Eddie Hearn has refused to dismiss the prospect of Anthony Joshua facing Deontay Wilder, while dropping a significant hint regarding a superfight with Tyson Fury. The Matchroom chief revealed that they are concentrating on securing a bout with The Gypsy King.

The former world heavyweight champion made his first public appearance attending the O2 Arena to witness Derek Chisora’s farewell fight against American Deontay Wilder. Fury and Joshua have been longstanding rivals having competed at the very top of heavyweight boxing for several years.

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Yet despite this, the pair have repeatedly failed to reach an agreement to stage the all-British clash, though recently it has appeared that the fight is closer to happening than ever before.

Hearn said: “To be honest, we’ve been very focused about making the Tyson Fury fight. AJ did mention to me that, he’s supporting Derek he thinks he’ll win, but if Deontay Wilder wins in style tonight, it opens a big fight with Anthony Joshua.

“We are here as friends and fans but got one eye on the game.”

Joshua made his comeback to the ring in December following more than 12 months away, after his defeat to Daniel Dubois, defeating Jake Paul in Miami, Florida.

However, his return remains uncertain after the 36-year-old was involved in a car crash in Nigeria which claimed the lives of two of his friends.

Joshua escaped the incident and received hospital treatment for minor injuries, while personal trainer Latif Ayodele and strength coach Sina Ghami both perished after their vehicle collided with a stationary lorry near Lagos.

Fury, meanwhile, is drawing ever closer to his return to the limelight after coming out of his fifth boxing retirement to face Arslanbek Makhmudov.

The 37-year-old takes on the Russian next weekend in his first bout since his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in December 2024.

The Gypsy King tops the bill at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 11. Upon announcing his comeback, he said: “I came back for one reason only: To make boxing great again. Since I stopped boxing a year ago, boxing for me has gone on a downward slope. It’s become quite boring.

“Boxing is at his maximum potential when Tyson Fury’s actively fighting. I didn’t say that, AI, Chat GPT [did]. So believe it.

“With me, I brought the biggest streaming platform on earth, Netflix. First fight back, fighting at a 60,000-seat stadium. I bring a circus, entertainment, action, cameras, everything to the sport. I was enjoying being retired.

“Made ‘At Home with the Furys’ Season 2, made a documentary, travelled the world with my family, a few private jets, yachts … I was enjoying myself.

“But it comes to a point where you just want to go back to work. My work will always be the fight game, no matter how old I am.”