Heavyweight contender Dereck Chisora believes a rematch with Dillian Whyte is going to be finalized by next week.

Whyte is scheduled to return n December 22 at The O2 Arena in London, and Chisora is the frontrunner to get the fight.

They fought an all-out war in December of 2016, with Whyte winning a twelve round split decision - but there were many who felt Chisora did enough to walk away with the win.

Chisora recently announced that former rival David Haye is now his manager.

Eddie Hearn, who promotes both Whyte and Chisora, has been working out the final details to get the deal in order. 

"We want to fight Dillian. It's going to happen," Chisora told Sky Sports. "Why is it not going to happen?

"It will be announced when [promoter Eddie Hearn] comes back from America, I think. Talks are going well.

"We're just waiting for Eddie to come back from America. He's in America and he'll be back on Monday."

Whyte is not as confident, advising reporters that Chisora is making the negotiations very tough.

“I think it needs to be done this week if it’s going to be [Chisora],” Whyte told Sky Sports. “There are other options on the table we are looking at. Eddie is speaking to a few people.

“Chisora is a fight the fans want to see and it’s a fight I want to have. I want to bash his head in and just get the stoppage that I should have taken care of the first time around. Let’s see. There is a massive danger he will miss out on a career-high pay day. At the minute, as the deal stands, it’s getting worse.

“I’ve got options, he hasn’t really got options. The Anthony Joshua fight is there for me, there are other fights that are there for me, and I’m just 30, so I’ve got so many options.”

But Chisora is not as worried.

"Oh man, tell the puppy not to worry. The fight is happening on the December 22," Chisora said.