Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury 'has to happen', says Eddie Hearn

Eddie Hearn is eager to see a fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury come to fruition and believes a bout between two of British boxing's biggest names "has to happen", though he admits becoming the undisputed champion of the heavyweight division is 'AJ's' top priority at this moment in time.

After spending more than two years in the boxing wilderness following his monumental victory over Wladimir Klitschko in Germany, Fury is currently training with new coach Ben Davison ahead of a return to the ring in April.

'The Gypsy King' has made his desire to fight Joshua clear over the past few months but will feel his way back into the sport with a couple of match-ups against lesser opponents, a wise decision in the eyes of Joshua's promoter Hearn, whose stable includes fighters such as Kell Brook and Tony Bellew.

Joshua will be attempting to unify the heavyweight division against Joseph Parker in Cardiff while Fury attempts to find his feet in a sport he once dominated.

But while the Olympic gold medallist is intent on possessing all the belts in the heavyweight division he would love little more than to go toe-to-toe with the former RING Magazine title holder, according to Hearn, who believes his fighter's next opponent should be WBC Champion Deontay Wilder.

"This is the fight that I think has to happen," Hearn said on iFL TV. "I think Tyson has realised that he needs a couple of fights and I think he wants a couple of easier fights and I think that's the right thing to do. The issue is, is what is the deal?

"When you talk about build-ups, that is epic. Just like the fighters, I like a pound note, but I love to be involved in fights where genuinely you really want to f**king win.

"We want all the belts, so after Parker we've got one to go. All you should want is all the belts, if AJ beats Parker, he's got to fight Wilder and he gets all the belts. Wilder-AJ is a great fight as well."

"It depends on the deal and situation. The attraction for AJ is not the money, he's made a lot of money. He wants to be undisputed champion of the world, that's the priority, but he would f**king love to fight Tyson. You know AJ, he loves to fight."