Promoter Eddie Hearn has indicated that former undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has no plans to step-aside from a mandatory crack at Anthony Joshua.

Joshua will defend his IBF, IBO, WBO, WBA heavyweight belts against Kubrat Pulev on the tentative date of December 12.

Pulev is the mandatory challenger under the IBF, while Usyk is the WBO's mandatory challenger.

Usyk is slated to face heavyweight contender Derek Chisora before the end of the year.

Should Joshua and Usyk both win, the Ukrainian boxer will be pushing to get his mandatory crack.

Joshua would rather go forward with a full division unification against WBC world champion Tyson Fury - which hangs on Fury winning his trilogy fight against Deontay Wilder on the working date of December 19.

According to Hearn, should Usyk defeat Chisora - he will then be pursuing the mandatory fight with Joshua in the first half of the new year.

"For sure, yes he’s not stepping aside,’ said Hearn to Sky Sports. "He wants the fight – the winner of Joshua against Pulev for the WBO world title. Maybe Mr Chisora puts a spanner in the works like Alexander Povetkin did [with Dillian Whyte]. Anything could happen.

"Usyk believes he could go out, get a good win under his belt in the heavyweight division and then move on to challenge for a world title in 2021."

There is always the possibility that Joshua will drop the WBO title in order to move forward with a very lucrative two fight series against Fury.