Eddie Hearn has promised that boxing fans will finally get to see Tyson Fury face Anthony Joshua later this year, or early next at the latest.
Matchroom Boxing boss Hearn was inches away from making the super-fight for the undisputed heavyweight title last summer, but when Fury was ordered to fight Deontay Wilder it was left to the wayside.
And with Joshua losing his unified belts to Oleksandr Usyk in the meantime, it has meant that a meeting between he and Fury is now farther away than it has been for years.
But Hearn believes it is inevitable that the pair will make the grudge match happen, and assuming Joshua can get past Usyk in his contractually obligated rematch later this year, it could even take place before the end of 2022.
“I think the AJ Fury fight is still the fight," Hearn said during an appearance on the DAZN Boxing Show. "I had a guy come up to me today and ask 'when's AJ fighting Fury'.
"I'm kind of like 'well that ship's sailed a little bit, we've got a few things to work out still, and AJ is rematching Usyk'.
"And the guy says 'oh is he? Well when's the Fury fight then?'
"That’s the fight that people still want to see and will always be there. The bigger the better.
“That fight, I promise you, will happen, whether that’s late this year or early next year.
"Fury vs. AJ is a dead cert to happen because it’s too big a fight not to.”
The pair have still got a heated rivalry, and Hearn believes that there is still psychological warfare going on between Fury and Joshua on social media.
Fury is expected to return to the ring on March 26, although no opponent has been decided yet despite Dillian Whyte being mandated as his next world title challenger.
There is an on-going dispute between Whyte and the WBC about how much of the purse split he deserves after they set it at a massive 80-20 in Fury's favour.
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The governing body's justification is that it is relative to each man's most recent purses, with Fury having earned tens of millions for his trilogy with Deontay Wilder.
Whyte's last two bouts were big-drawing pay-per-view fights with Alexander Povetkin, but neither saw him come close to making seven-figures, meaning the governing body have mandated the massive split.
The purse bids for the fight have twice been delayed, and Fury is willing to face another opponent without the belts on the line in an effort to stay active this March.
Andy Ruiz Jr, Robert Helenius and Manuel Charr have all emerged as possible opponents, although nothing is set in stone as yet.
Joshua, on the other hand, must vastly improve his performance when he faces Usyk for a second time later this year.
Hearn said during the programme that fans should expect to see the pair run their September 2021 bout back sometime in April.
