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Eddie Hearn, promoter of Anthony Joshua, is looking to make an official announcement next week on the planned rematch with IBF, WBO, WBC, IBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Last September, Usyk outboxed Joshua over twelve rounds to capture the unified crown.
The rematch is expected to take place on July 23 in the Middle East.
Last month, before a crowd of 94,000 at Wembley Stadium in London, WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury retained his title with a sixth round knockout of mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte.
Afterwards, Fury expressed his desire to retire from the sport.
However, most observers believe Fury will stick around – at least for a potential undisputed fight with the winner of the rematch between Usyk and Joshua.
And, Hearn is one of those observers.
He expects Fury to remain in the sport for a year-end showdown with Usyk or Joshua.
“It’s very easy for Tyson to go back and go, ‘Look, I’m just gonna have some time now. Let me just think about what I’m going to do. ‘I know I said that after the fight, but let me have some time.’ And [the WBC] shouldn’t strip him, of course not. He doesn’t have to retire, he doesn’t have to give [the WBC] a decision when his next fight is just yet. He’s just boxed,” Hearn told IFL TV.
“So everything is done properly, but, of course, we all know he’s not retiring. So I expect to see him fight the winner of Joshua-Usyk in December.”
WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman has already indicated that Fury is not under any pressure to provide an answer regarding his future. He has a year before another mandatory defense is due.
“We have one year to have the next mandatory fight. At this moment, we will wait for the decision of Tyson Fury and then we will either do a series of fights – a boxing tournament – going into a final elimination. But at this time we’re going to wait because we don’t know the specific circumstances,” Sulaiman said to Sky Sports.