Eddie Hearn believes he is making slow but steady progress when it comes to making the proposed fight between Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua.
Joshua fought a few weeks ago, taking on late replacement Robert Helenius at the O2 Arena, and stopping his opponent in relative comfort.
That has led to speculation that the long-trailed fight with Wilder could now be made for the winter.
While Hearn is confident that talks are heading in the right direction, he admitted that it was slow going, and Joshua might face another fighter first to stay busy.
“It’s slow, I won’t lie,” he told The DAZN Boxing Show. “Obviously it’s a massive fight and these things take time. Everything is kind of agreed other than the signing of the paperwork. We know that takes time, especially in that part of the world.
“For me the biggest concern is AJ wants to fight in December or January, we know the Wilder fight is not going to happen in December so we’re happy to wait until January, but if that fight starts pushing back to February or March, don’t be surprised if he still signs for that fight but has another one in between. He’s loving the activity at the moment.
“He’s loving being in training camp, he’s loving working with Derrick James. But our full focus is to sign the Deontay Wilder fight. I’m not disappointed but we want to get it done. The conversations have to extend to [Oleksandr] Usyk and [Tyson] Fury, they could be on the same card - who knows? So there’s a lot of conversations to be had. I truly believe that Wilder is up for and ready for this fight. We’re in a good place."