Eddie Hearne has revealed that he expects Anthony Joshua will fight Tyson Fury later this year, but warned the Gypsy King must beat Oleksandr Usyk first.

A Battle of Britain matchup between the two heavyweight superstars has been talked about for almost the entirety of their respective careers and finally looks to be one step closer to happening.

Joshua appears to be prime contender to fight the winner of Fury’s upcoming clash against Usyk where the heavyweight division looks set to be unified – but must first overcome clashes against Dillion Whyte and Deontay Wilder as Hearn confirmed the 34-year-old’s next immediate opponents.

Represented by Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, Joshua is waiting to announce his next opponent after knocking out former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou.

Hearn was answering a question about darts prodigy Luke Littler during a recent interview with Piers Morgan when he revealed the chances of Joshua meeting Fury in the ring later this year.

Eddie Hearne has revealed that he expects Anthony Joshua will fight Tyson Fury later this year

Hearn claimed that negotiations between the two camps are complicated at times and Fury ‘only cares about the money’

‘Because the darts Championship happens in December and January, I’m gonna say that Fury vs AJ happens this year,’ he said.

‘So I’m gonna say Fury vs AJ [happens first].’

The long-running saga over if and when the duo will finally go head-to-head has had plenty of bumps along the road and plenty more are still expected to come as both teams negotiate over a deal.

Joshua and Fury had both previously signed off on a fight, but it was later cancelled as talks between the two camps eventually broke down and Fury instead fought Deontay Wilder in a trilogy showdown.

Meanwhile, Usyk shocked the division by twice beating Joshua to claim the Brit’s previous championship belts.

Joshua knocked out former UFC star Francis Ngannou in his last fight and is now set to fight Dillion Whyte

Fury is set to fight Oleksanr Usy in a heavyweight unification bout later this year

‘Everybody wants to see this fight and on August 12, Anthony Joshua will fight Dillion Whyte, after that he will fight Deontay Wilder in Saudi Arabia and then after that it has to be Tyson Fury’ said Hearn.

Tyson Fury turned down the Usyk fight, the mort important fight in boxing, the undisputed heavyweight worl d championship to fight an MMA fighter who has never had a fight before in his life.

‘We have to be honest, Fury cares about one thing only, the money.’

The 44-year-old later explained that Fury must beat both Usyk and Joshua to be a true boxing great, adding: ‘He has to beat Usyk and he has to beat Anthony Joshua, particularly Usyk.’