Tyson Fury promoter reveals why Anthony Joshua will delay Oleksandr Usyk rematch

Tyson Fury's promoter Frank Warren believes that Anthony Joshua's rematch with Oleksandr Usyk isn't set to occur in the near future, despite the path being clear.

Joshua is set to go toe-to-toe with Usyk as he seeks to look to claim back the three heavyweight belts he lost to the Ukrainian in September at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

There has been a delay in progress towards a date amid suggestions that Joshua could step aside, which would have allowed Fury to face a more immediate unification bout against Usyk.

However, those plans collapsed and Fury will instead defend his belt against Dillian Whyte in April - with an official confirmation of date and venue expected imminently.

Joshua's path has also been cleared by those developments but fans hoping to discover developments quickly have been warned that they may not get that wish.

“He [Eddie Hearn] keeps talking about Tyson not fighting Usyk, I don't think Joshua will. That's my opinion. I don't think he fancies that rematch at the moment," he told TalkSport.

“Hearn has his hands full now, he's got that fight to get on and why does he keep banging on about what we're doing for?

“Our fight is going to be on BT Box Office, it's going to be a great fight to watch. Afterwards, they can go and watch all those shows Eddie [Hearn] is putting on his app.”

Fury's clash with Whyte and the rematch between Joshua and Usyk have huge significance for the heavyweight scene, as it marks the final hurdle before a long-awaited unification bout.

The winners from the two bouts are expected to go head-to-head later this year to crown the first unified heavyweight champion of the four-belt era.