Eddie Hearn, promoter for IBF, WBA, WBO, IBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, would still love to finalize a deal for a unification with WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury for the fall.
Hearn had targeted that contest for the month of December, but that plan was seriously affected by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Joshua is slated to face his mandatory challenger, Kubrat Pulev, on June 20. The fight is likely getting pushed back to July 25th, or even later.
Fury was heading to a trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder for July 18th. That fight has now been postponed until October.
If Joshua goes forward with Pulev in July, Hearn says a Fury fight is still possible for a fall date - but that can only be possible if Wilder takes a step aside deal.
"We've got June 20 as a pencilled date for Anthony Joshua. We will make a statement potentially this week, or maybe early next week, that's likely to be delayed. I think that's pretty straightforward and obvious. Hopefully until the end of July," Hearn told Sky Sports.
"But if it starts kicking on beyond that, then you get to a situation where if Joshua is only going to box once this year, he would very much like that to be against Tyson Fury. The situation is a little bit out of our hands in that, if Bob Arum and Al Haymon can talk and make Deontay Wilder wait a little bit, we would absolutely love to go into that fight next.
"I think a lot of it depends on Deontay Wilder. 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. 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. 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.'