Eddie Hearn has reason to believe that boxing fans might get the fights that they're yearning for once the coronavirus subsides.
One of them, although it's an outside chance with plenty of moving parts, could be Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury for the undisputed heavyweight crown.
While speaking with Sky Sports, Hearn said that Joshua would be "extremely interested" in a Fury bout if Deontay Wilder is willing to "step aside" from his own trilogy fight plans with Fury to allow it to happen. A similar "step-aside" deal would need to be worked out with Kubrat Pulev, who is set to face Joshua on June 20 in a bout that could very well be pushed back to July due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
"I think a lot of it depends on Deontay Wilder," Hearn told Sky Sports of the former WBC champion who lost his title to Fury via a seventh-round TKO in February. "If he's willing to take that step-aside money. That's a conversation to be had with Bob Arum and Al Haymon to see if that's even possible.
"If it was possible and there was a way to make Kubrat Pulev wait, which I think is probably an easier job, then for sure, I think Anthony Joshua would be extremely interested in moving straight into the Tyson Fury fight," the Matchroom Boxing USA president continued, referring to the easier situation due to Pulev and Fury both fighting under Bob Arum's Top Rank. "I think in an ideal world, we have that fight next.
"It's always been the case, but if we can fight Kubrat Pulev in July, we'd love to fight Tyson Fury in November, December," Hearn added for good measure. "At the same time, I think there's so much uncertainty at the moment, this is the kind of situation that might make people say - 'I think now is the time.'"
A lot of what Hearn said can be construed as wishful thinking, considering the Fury vs. Wilder trilogy was slated to happen this summer before the coronavirus pandemic pushed it back to the fall.
Then again, the uncertainty of the virus alone could always change things, so let's see how the rest of the boxing year unfolds once the world flattens the curve on COVID-19.