Anthony Joshua fighting Tyson Fury is inevitable, says promoter Eddie Hearn.

Fury has indicated he wishes to end his retirement and return to boxing next year, but a trilogy fight with Oleksandr Usyk, rather than a long-awaited showdown with Joshua, is said to be his target.

However, promoter Hearn is convinced Fury and Joshua will have to fight each other before either can realistically call for a third Usyk bout.

“He’s a competitor just like AJ, the only person that’s beat Tyson Fury is Oleksandr Usyk and he’s beat him twice and he’s beat him fair and square,” Hearn told Sky Sports.

“Two good fights, two competitive fights. Same with AJ. First fight was a bit wider, second fight was very competitive. AJ would love to fight Usyk again. But he also understands it’s not really a fight he can call for just yet because he’s coming off a defeat and he’s lost to him twice before.

“Just like the reality is Tyson Fury’s coming off two defeats. The trilogy being 2-0 down is not really something that happens a lot.”

Hearn insisted: “No one’s interested in Fury against Usyk, no one’s interested in AJ against Usyk, they’ve seen it twice and it was the same result both times. People are interested in AJ against Fury.

“I don’t know what the delay is for the inevitable of just saying of course [let’s make the fight].

“I think [it has to happen]. Why delay the inevitable?”

Usyk’s recent declaration that he intends to box for two more years, rather than retire after one more fight, leaves open the potential for a trilogy with Fury or Joshua down the line.

“He battered [Daniel] Dubois. He’s in his absolute pomp, isn’t he? If he wants to carry on and he’s happy and if he’s physically fit, why should he retire?” Hearn said of Usyk.

“I guess it’s all about personal motivation. Is he motivated to fight Joseph Parker? Is he motivated to fight Moses Itauma? And if he is and he wants to continue testing himself, good luck to him. Whilst he’s in his prime, I don’t think he’ll be beaten.

“Maybe the winner of AJ against Fury fights Usyk, I don’t know. Certainly you can’t compare the demand for AJ versus Fury to Usyk versus Fury, or AJ versus Usyk.”

The immediate plan for Joshua remains a comeback fight in February before a major one next summer, though Hearn did not rule out the possibility of AJ having a “run out” before the end of this year.

“It makes sense,” the promoter said. “You’ve sometimes got to do what’s right for the fighter, his progression, his momentum, his confidence, his flow, everything. The thing with AJ, it seems every fight is mega-pressure, mega-stadium, but you never really get a chance to just go out and get that momentum.

“He’s always under pressure to fight ‘someone’ and there would be no pressure in that fight. It would be low key, just a chance to go and blow the cobwebs off.

“That may happen this year, before we have that fight in February and then the one after that could be Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk or whoever we have to jump in the deep end against.”