Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn believes a potential fight between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder could be in the former unified world heavyweight champion's immediate plans.
Joshua is yet to announce both a date and opponent for his first fight since losing to Oleksandr Usyk for a second time in August, but there are a number of options available including a rematch with domestic rival Dillian Whyte who returns on November 26 against Jermaine Franklin live on DAZN.
When it came to discussing the idea of Joshua facing Whyte for a second time, Hearn told The DAZN Boxing Show that it will all depend on when his client schedules his return to the ring.
"I think it all depends on when AJ fights, if he waits until April or May, he may go straight into the Dillian Whyte fight, if he fights in February, he may have a warm-up fight first," Hearn said.
"He’s coming to Abu Dhabi this week; we are sitting down with him to plan the next step and we’re on the verge of mapping that out."
One name that is showing no signs of going away is former WBC world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.
The hard-hitting American cemented his position as one the most forces in the division with a first round knockout of Robert Helenius last month despite two back-to-back losses to Tyson Fury, and now Wilder is being linked to a fight with Joshua.
Following a very public breakdown of negotiations in 2018, it looked like a fight between two of the biggest names in boxing would never happen, but Hearn revealed that the two camps are now in talks for what would be one of the biggest fights in recent memory.
"I actually sent Shelly Finkel an email back in August to talk about a deal and he actually replied to me yesterday," Hearn revealed.
"I invited them out here to Abu Dhabi this week, they can’t come, but I see the Deontay Wilder fight probably being the second fight for Anthony Joshua in all honesty, but he’s up for fighting anyone.
"If he waits, he may go straight into that fight, it all depends on when he returns, if he returns early in the year, he’ll fight someone else first and if not he’ll go straight into the Whyte or Wilder fight."