Joshua Buatsi could be on collision course with Anthony Yarde once he shakes off the ring rust on Oct. 4 against Croatia's Marko Calic, according to his promoter Eddie Hearn.
Buatsi, who won bronze at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, hasn't competed since a win over Canada's Ryan Ford on Aug. 31, 2019.
The unbeaten light-heavyweight hopes to end this lengthy absence — which passed the one-year mark thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic — in his 12-rounder against Calic, but Hearn has big plans for him after that.
“I think that’s a natural fight,” Hearn told Boxing Scene. “It’s a huge O2 Arena fight for 2021.
"Sometimes when you get two young British talents you could say ‘one should have a world title and you can go into a world championship fight’. The world we live in today, let’s just get that made next year.
“It’s a massive Box Office fight at the O2, huge fight for both, two great fighters. But first things first, Buatsi has been out for a long time and needs to perform well against Calic.”
Hearn is set to meet with rival matchmaker Frank Warren, who promotes Yarde, this month over dinner to discuss potentially collaborating for the first time.
The idea was first pitched by Warren in August as a potential boost for live boxing as the industry deals with the after-effects of the lockdown.
Hearn admitted he was skeptical as to why Warren was so keen to co-promote fights, and that some of his suggested "Matchroom vs. Queensberry" fights weren't feasible in the short-term.
Even back then, however, Hearn admitted he loved the sound of Buatsi vs. Yarde, and it seems to be one domestic crossover that could be made sooner rather than later.
With Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury looking set to go at it in a heavyweight unification megafight in 2021, the need for direct communication between Hearn and Warren was already there. And now, Buatsi vs. Yarde could be the match-up that officially breaks down the promotional barriers.
Yarde is one of the few boxers able to get two fights in during 2020 so far, recently stopping Dec Spelman behind closed doors on Saturday at the BT Sport studio in London after needing only two rounds to halt Diego Jair Ramirez in Madrid on Feb. 8.