EDDIE HEARN has warned the failed talks for Anthony Joshua to fight Tyson Fury could still pave the way for a deal to one day get done.
The pair of heavyweight rivals were in talks for a shock December 3 Battle of Britain in Cardiff.
But opposing promoters could not get a deal done in time, with Fury instead moving on to a trilogy bout with Derek Chisora.
Hearn led the negotiations with Frank Warren’s son George, laying the foundation for future business.
He told SecondsOut in Abu Dhabi: âAJ will be here this week to finalise his next move, and I donât rule out the fight for the future.
“All those conversations were between George Warren and myself, and later on particularly George Warren and Frank Smith.
âThereâs an open line of communication. I think itâs really positive for the future for fights to get made.
“So in that respect, great. Obviously, we didnât get the big one over the line, but certainly, it opens the door for better communication lines.”
Joshua, 33, is taking time out to mentally recover from his back-to-back points losses to Oleksandr Usyk, 35.
Meanwhile Fury, 34, moved on from talks with AJ to instead rematch Derek Chisora, 38, again despite his prior 2011 and 2014 wins.
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It is a fight the Gypsy King faced criticism for due to the one-sided nature of earlier wins.
Hearn said: âIt was difficult because Dereks my mate, and Iâve promoted his shows, so I didnât want to criticise him.
âI will say if they hadnât boxed previously, it wouldnât be the worst pick in the world.
“Itâs a much better pick than Manuel Charr, who they wanted to fight, but they were negotiating with Derek Chisora right back when they were negotiating with AJ.
âThat fight took eight weeks to close. So it took a long time to get there.
“I was pleased that Derek got the opportunity. I understand thereâs no demand to see the fight.
âI know Derek will give it his best, and Iâm sure itâll be entertaining.”
