Eddie Hearn names three alternative fights for Anthony Joshua in December if Tyson Fury fight falls through again

Eddie Hearn has named Otto Wallin, Zhang Zhilei and Filip Hrgovic as three possible alternatives for Anthony Joshua in December should a proposed Battle of Britain against Tyson Fury fall through again.

Joshua, coming off the back of two consecutive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk, has been offered the chance to challenge for Fury’s WBC heavyweight title before the end of the year.

The former Olympian has accepted a 40 per cent cut of the fight purse, according to promoter Eddie Hearn, but disputes when the fight will take place have complicated matters.

Fury is eager to fight in November or the first weekend of December at the latest while Hearn has pencilled in for 17 December for Joshua’s return to the ring.

Should the Fury fight collapse again, Joshua is expected to fight on that date regardless with his promoter now naming three possible options for the 32-year-old.

‘He [Joshua] wouldn’t want a soft touch, that would work against him,’ Hearn told the DAZN Boxing Show. ‘The last thing AJ wants is a gimme fight. And we are not interested in gimme fights, there has to be an element of risk.’

On possible opponents, he added: ‘Look at the top 15. You’ve got Filip Hrogvic, who just won but I thought it was a poor performance from him. Zhang Zhilei, who looked good, Otto Wallin had a very close fight with Tyson Fury.’

Hrgovic and Zhang fought on the undercard of Joshua’s latest defeat to Usyk in Saudi Arabia in August with the Croatian extending his record to 15-0 with an unanimous decision win.

It was a lacklustre performance from Hrgovic however, who was dropped in the first round and struggled with the Chinese fighter’s power in the first-half of the fight.

His victory however saw him elevated to mandatory challenger for the IBF