Eddie Hearn has admitted he is "almost out of time" to stage Anthony Joshua's second meeting with Oleksandr Usyk on July 23.
The British star's revenge mission remains likely to take place this summer in Saudi Arabia, 10 months after he lost his belts to the Ukrainian. The rematch has already been delayed once with Usyk bravely taking up arms against Russian invasion.
And Hearn confirmed that while a lucrative meeting in the desert remains the most likely option, he may have to push it back again. “July 23, in the Middle East is the frontrunner," he told the DAZN Boxing Show. “We’re almost out of time for that date if we don’t get the deal done this week.
"I’m hoping we can give you two big pieces of news this week. That will be Canelo Alvarez’s next fight and Anthony Joshua ’s next fight – two of the biggest stars of the sport." He also added to reporters: “The date of the fight and the time to train are not the problems, it is more about the extra obligations of TV, press conferences and promotion.
"Eight weeks out feels OK but once you get down to seven and six, it’s a problem. Both fighters know that if we have to do a media tour then it needs to happen in the next 10-14 days. Beyond that we will have to move it back a week or two."
Joshua has not fought since his defeat by Usyk last September and has since been training in Loughborough alongside new head trainer Angel Fernandez. 'AJ' was heavily criticised for his "gun-shy" tactical approach while his coach Rob McCracken also found himself in the firing line.
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Joshua will likely announce another alteration to his coaching team in the coming weeks when the fight is confirmed. It will be the second time in his career that he will need to respond to defeat, having overturned his first loss against Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019.
Usyk has also made a return to training after being forced to delay his sequel with Joshua. An opportunity could present itself for the Ukrainian to become undisputed champion in a second weight class by challenging Tyson Fury if he retains his belts.
However Joshua has vowed to fight to a gameplan for the first time in his career to bring the titles back into his grasp. "If I'm honest with you, this is the first time in my career I'd say we are specifically working to a game plan," Joshua said during a Q&A with the Oxford Union.
"So it will all make sense after July 23. I've based a lot of my success on raw ability, with the right coaches, experienced coaches. Because things don't always go our way when it's based on raw ability. So I believe when I start looking at social media now, you're seeing so many different aspects of training and stuff. So raw ability wasn't enough, so now I'm gonna try out this new game plan training and see how it goes."
