Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte will need comprehensive title shot plans, as well as "substantial amounts of money", in order to allow Tyson Fury to fight Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight title.
Joshua is contractually guaranteed a rematch with Usyk for his unified WBA, WBO and IBF titles, while Whyte is the mandatory challenger for Fury's WBC belt.
But an offer from the Middle East to fund a massive unification bout between Usyk and Fury has raised the prospect of Joshua and Whyte being paid to step aside.
Promoter Eddie Hearn, however, inssits it would take more than just money to make the fight happen, with both Joshua and Whyte having a legitimate legal claim to the first shot after a hypothetical Fury-Usyk bout.
"There are substantial amounts of money available," he told Mirror Fighting yesterday at a press conference for Leigh Wood vs Michael Conlan. "And there are people who want to try and make this route happen.
"But it's not just about the money, it's about the plan - AJ doesn't want someone to come and give him money and saying 'right, see you later mate'.
"He wants to know what the actual plan is, and that's the same with Dillian Whyte, he's been waiting a long time and if he has to wait a couple of more months that's ok but how does it work?
"That's the hold-up really, and right now, I still think the favourite is the two fights, but we'll see what happens."
Hearn admits conversations have taken place, but he has yet to approach Joshua, or Whyte with whom he works on a lesser level, with a concrete offer.
Joshua has warned his promoter to only speak to him about a possible step aside if it is a serious deal that could help him to cement his financial future and legacy.
"I work closer with AJ than Dillian," Hearn continued. "There have been a lot of discussions already but until I'm ready to present something solid to those people then we can do that at any time.
"It's only if the time comes where it's something I consider good enough or serious enough, it's not just the money.
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"Let's say we take the money and Joshua has a comeback fight with a new trainer, then we have a bigger fight vs the winner.
"OK, that's great, but how is that locked in? What's secure, what's not?
"It's all very complicated, and that's why it's taking such a long time and sometimes it will go quiet and then resurface."
With both Joshua and Whyte already confirmed for title fights, Hearn believes it would be difficult to tide them over with an eliminator rematch that would decide who gets the shot at the undisputed champion.
There was a clause entered into Joshua's deal for his first fight with Usyk that he would be given an immediate rematch should he lose.
Meanwhile, Whyte has been the WBC's mandatory challenger since beating Alexander Povetkin last March to reclaim the spot he had held for years prior to losing their first fight in 2020.
