A 'statement' win over Tony Bellew would put David Haye in consideration for a shot at Anthony Joshua

Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed that he would "consider" pitting his fighter in unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua against David Haye if the latter were to defeat Tony Bellew.

Fighting with an achilles injury, Haye suffered the third loss of his career via an 11th-round TKO to Bellew back in March in what was a major boxing upset.

The rematch was scheduled for 17 December, but "The Hayemaker" had to postpone the fight to recover from a bicep injury. The second meeting between the two rivals will now take place on 5 May, 2018.

Having long wanted to face "AJ", Haye is looking to right a wrong and not only defeat Bellew, but also make a statement doing it, so that he would be deserving of a shot at Joshua.

"I'm not only looking at winning this fight, I really want to make a statement and show the world I am an elite heavyweight," Haye told Sky Sports News.

"I am a guy who can challenge for that No 1 spot. Anything other than a conclusive, spectacular victory, is a failure in my eyes. If I win the fight, but I struggle, I'm honest enough with myself to know the likes of Anthony Joshua, the No 1 in the division... if I cannot beat Tony Bellew in emphatic style, then I've got no business mentioning his name.

"Not only do I have to win, I have to win in a style that you would expect [from] the best heavyweight in the world. I don't want my performance to be any less than you would expect from an Anthony Joshua to deal with Tony Bellew."

Hearn, who also promotes Bellew, is confident that "The Bomber" will emerge victorious once again, but did reveal he would consider a Joshua vs Haye fight if the 37-year-old were to win.

"I am more confident than ever that Bellew wins, but if Haye were to win, then his popularity and the size of a fight [against Joshua] would mean it could be one to consider," Hearn said.

"If he beats Bellew he could make some noise about [fighting Joshua]. One of his big motivations is to fight Joshua but he isn't on our radar, at the moment."

Bellew, on the other hand, is looking to not only beat Haye but also Tyson Fury who is eyeing a return to boxing next year.

The two have been engaging in a war of words and were even looking to fight each other when news first broke that Haye would not be able to fight in December. Hearn recently revealed that a meeting between the two could happen in 2018.