Eddie Hearn, promoter for former cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew (29-2-1, 19 KOs), would love to see his fighter take on light heavyweight champion Andre Ward (32-0, 16 KOs) in his next fight.

Ward, 33 years old, retired from boxing last year and vacated all three of his lightweight titles. The decision came down a few months after gaining a stoppage win over Sergey Kovalev in their June rematch.

A few weeks ago, there were rumblings of Ward potentially exploring the possibility of a ring return at a higher weight limit.

Prior to Ward's retirement, there was some talk of a fight with Bellew at cruiserweight.

But, Bellew was not very happy with the terms that were on the table, and he decided to go in another direction by finalizing a rematch with heavyweight David Haye, scheduled for May 5th at the O2 Arena in London.

If Bellew wins, Hearn would like to see him get Ward in the ring.

"[Ward is] flirting with the idea of a comeback already. But I would like to see Tony fight him after this fight. It’s a great fight. I know everyone always writes off Tony but at cruiserweight, it’s a tough fight for Andre, a very tough fight for Tony. So we’ll see. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Andre Ward come back,” Hearn told Boxing News.

Beyond Haye, Bellew has discussed the likely possibility of dropping back down to the cruiserweight limit.

When Bellew left the division, he was made the WBC 'champion in recess' - so he can request an immediate fight with the current champion without holding a mandatory position. That would place Bellew in position to fight the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Murat Gassiev winner.

Hearn feels Ward is the much better option because he's less dangerous than Usyk or Gassiev and far more well known.  

“It’s a less dangerous fight [than Usyk] because Ward isn’t overly dangerous or a huge puncher but he’s technically excellent. I think he’d get more credit, Tony, beating Ward than someone like a [Murat] Gassiev, who’s very well known in the fight community but not the wider audience,” the promoter said. “[Ward] is a big fight," Hearn said.