A battle of former world champions, between Kell Brook and Liam Smith, is very possible for the near future, according to their mutual promoter Eddie Hearn.

This coming Saturday night, Brook will snap a 14-month layoff when he faces once-beaten Mark DeLuca in a junior middleweight contest.

Brook, who held the IBF's welterweight crown and lost it to Errol Spence in 2017, is now looking for another world title at 154-pounds.

The quickest route to a world title will be under the WBO. Brook is hoping to get a high ranking with the sanctioning body.

Smith, a former WBO champion who lost the belt to Canelo Alvarez in 2016, is also looking to reclaim his old belt. Smith was in action in December when he defeated Roberto Garcia.

Hearn would love to match Brook against Smith in a WBO final eliminator, where the winner would be guaranteed a world title shot.

"As long as he's still got the ability he has, he's a force and he can win a world title. He's a big name, Kell Brook," Hearn told Sky Sports.

"The ill-discipline has cost him in his career. Now he's got to the stage where he knows he's got to make it count. I believe he's got a couple of years at the elite level of the sport but he's got to look good against Mark DeLuca on Saturday.

"We've made this fight for the WBO intercontinental title. The champion for that belt (Patrick) Teixeira is fighting (Brian) Castano, who is No 1. Liam Smith is No 2. We hope that this fight will take Kell to No 3, and if we can't get a straight shot for a world title, or the famous Amir Khan fight, we will be looking at Liam Smith for Kell Brook as a final eliminator for the WBO world title.

"That is a fantastic fight for British boxing. Sheffield against Liverpool, two great fighters, two former world champions looking to regain their world title. But again, all this talk is great but on Saturday night we might seeing the retirement of Kell Brook. That's what we're talking about in this fight, or we might be seeing, what I believe is one of the best fighters in British and world boxing back with a bang looking to become a two-time world champion in 2020."