Eddie Hearn, promoter for IBO, IBF, WBA, WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, admits that Alexander Povetkin is one of the frontrunners to face his superstar boxer next.
Both of them were in action this past Saturday night, before a wild crowd of nearly 80,000 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
In the co-feature, Povetkin pulled off a vicious fifth round knockout of Olympic bronze medal winner David Prince.
In the main event, Joshua added the WBO title to his collection with a twelve round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Joseph Parker. It was the first time where Joshua went the full twelve round distance.
Top contender Dillian Whyte was watching from ringside and he would really like to get a crack at Povetkin.
"[Povetkin] is a good, strong fighter but I know what you have to do to beat him," Whyte told Sky Sports. "You just need a good, strong jab and you beat Povetkin all day.
"I'd fight him next. I just told him. He said he'd fight me next. [Promoter Eddie Hearn] said he'd make it."
Whyte is currently the No 1 contender to WBC champion Deontay Wilder's title but the World Boxing Council has not ordered that contest and it appears that Wilder will fight someone else in the coming months. Wilder made a mandatory defense last November when he knocked out Bermane Stiverne in the first round.
Povetkin is the mandatory challenger to Joshua in two sanctioning bodies, the WBO and WBA.
Hearn says Povetkin is indeed in line for Joshua, but he's also interested in matching Whyte against the Russian puncher in a main event headliner for a card being planned in the month of June.
Hearn said about Whyte: "[Povetkin] will be mandatory for Joshua but I've got another heavyweight who wants to fight Povetkin in June, if he wants it."