Fury v Johnson promise

Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has promised that an all-British heavyweight unification clash between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury ‘‘will happen’’ – and predicted it could be the biggest fight in the sport’s history.

Hearn – who represents WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO titlist Joshua – said he would do everything in his power to agree a deal with newly crowned WBC champion Fury, who ended Deontay Wilder’s long title reign with a seventh-round stoppage in Las Vegas last weekend.

The Matchroom supremo said rival camps would be ‘‘clowns’’ and ‘‘idiots’’ if they didn’t make the fight for all the heavyweight belts happen this year.

‘‘Everybody is very clear on this. Everybody wants this fight – Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, MTK, Top Rank, Frank Warren [Fury’s promoters], Matchroom,’’ Hearn told Sky Sports in the UK.

‘‘There are some hurdles to overcome on the broadcasting, but nothing too much. I promise you this fight will happen.’’

However, Hearn did warn that both fighters would want to maximise their earnings in such a high-stakes showdown, which could mean it would be staged overseas rather than in the UK.

There are several obstacles standing in the way of an undisputed fight, with Joshua obligated to face his mandatory IBF challenger Kubrat Pulev next, likely in June at Tottenham Hostpur Stadium in London.

Fury, meanwhile, will have to fight Wilder for a third time because the American has decided to exercise a contractual clause for a rematch.

‘If we have to fight Pulev, we’ve got to beat Pulev, and if he [Fury] has to fight Wilder, he’s got to beat Wilder again,’’ Hearn said. ‘‘Fury will beat Wilder again and Joshua will knock Pulev clean out.

‘‘You will get this fight. We will do everything that it takes to make this fight.’’