Tyson Fury’s co-promoter Bob Arum believes the WBC champion will face Oleksandr Usyk after Dillian Whyte or Joe Joyce.
Fury is enjoying some time off after an excellent end to the trilogy series against Deontay Wilder. The Bronze Bomber was stopped after 11 rounds after the pair both gave a good account of themselves.
Fury is seen as the best in the division with Usyk the natural next challenger, giving them the chance to unify Fury’s WBC belt with Usyk’s IBF, WBA and WBO championships.
First, Usyk must take care of a 2022 rematch with Anthony Joshua, and Whyte is the WBC interim champion. Due to a shoulder injury putting paid to his fight with Otto Wallin this weekend, Whyte could now go straight into a fight with Fury as the body’s mandatory challenger.
Arum told Sky Sports that Fury will decide his next opponent.
"Who Fury fights next will be determined by Fury," he said.
"If the fight is in the UK, I would think Whyte would be a good possibility, as well as Joyce.
"It is very, very important that Tyson, having done his last five fights in the US, that he goes back and does a fight in the UK.
"He is a Brit, he has plenty of fans in the UK, and if he does a fight in the UK then comes back to the US, he will bring 10,000 Brits with him.
"American fans have to learn to sing like the Brits!"
With Fury taking time out, Arum explained how a return would be calculated, saying: "Frank Warren is going to Manchester to meet Fury to work out a date. It could be March or April, but no later than April.
"A date that would be appealing to us in the US, even if the fight took place in the UK, would be the middle of April because we have a college basketball tournament called March Madness which the country goes crazy for. It is tough to find a date for a big fight [during March Madness].
"We will figure out who and when Tyson will fight next."
Arum then suggested that Usyk would follow as the logical challenge for his fighter.
"You ask anybody in the world: 'Who is the heavyweight champion? Who is the best?’” he explained.
"There would be close to unanimity in saying Fury, but that doesn't denigrate Usyk who is a friend of mine.
"He is the one guy who would be the most competitive with Fury.
"Hopefully next year that fight can happen.
"With all due respect, I don't give Joshua much of a chance in a rematch with Usyk."