Barry Hearn, promoter for IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, believes a unification with WBC champion Tyson Fury can certainly be next - based on the current situation.

Boxing is currently on the shelf for the most part, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to play out.

In the current climate, the Matchroom founder views Joshua vs. Fury as the only viable cash cow of a fight to produce massive revenue.

But Joshua is contracted to make a mandatory defense against Kubrat Pulev. And Fury is contracted to face Deontay Wilder in a trilogy fight.

Neither Wilder or Pulev is willing to step aside.

Barry Hearn believes a Fury-Wilder trilogy will lose millions - and he believes Joshua-Pulev will also take a big hit with no fans in attendance.

"Do you want to do Tyson Fury against Wilder on the terms that have been agreed and signed for on a previous contract? Answer? No bloody way. Can't afford it, fight's not big enough. Number one, too much money. Number two, where's the income? Number three, can Bob Arum, various camps and promoters afford to do it? Don't listen to the bullsh-t. No way," Barry Hearn told IFL TV.

"That fight is a great fight, it's contracted, but realistically, does everyone get paid? Then you come across Pulev vs AJ. Without a live gate, it's going to be a very low-earning fight for the fighters. Do they both accept that they're going to earn a lot less money? Does it make the fight less attractive? Maybe it does to both of them.

"Maybe the better deal is to say to Pulev and Wilder, 'we'll pay you to sit on your backside and wait for the outcome of a fight [between Joshua and Fury] with a guarantee of getting the next fight', that might look attractive. When you put all these things together in the mix, the one fight you know you can sell for loads of money, where everybody gets paid, more than their previous fight, is Joshua vs Fury.

"What about rolling those dice, Tyson Fury thinks he can beat Joshua, Joshua thinks he can beat Fury. They both know they're going to earn far more money from that fight than any other fight. And it's relatively straight-forward to put together, and there's no danger of people not getting paid. That makes a bit of sense."