Eddie Hearn has revealed that he and Anthony Joshua are focussing on a deal for him to finally face Tyson Fury next summer after positive talks with Turki Alalshikh.

Hearn posted a picture alongside the chairman of the Saudi Arabia General Entertainment Authority and head of Riyadh Season after lengthy discussions in Riyadh, which he says took in a number of sports as well as boxing.

But, when asked about the meeting by The Ring’s Louis Hart, the Matchroom chairman said that the long-awaited heavyweight battle of Britain between Joshua and Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) was high on the agenda.

“He wants to make AJ against Fury, that’s no secret,” Hearn said of Alalshikh. “He wants to make the biggest fights in the sport and that is the biggest fight in boxing right now. We’ve got to agree our end and then it’s up to Turki whether he can get Fury in the ring.

“The best thing about these situations now is that it’s not me speaking to Frank Warren or Spencer Brown or Tyson Fury trying to do a deal. We just have to do our deal and if Turki can make the fight then it’s on. If he can’t, it’s not on.

“We are focussing on that side. We have a plan for AJ to get him back in the ring as soon as possible and then lead up to a huge fight against Tyson Fury in 2026. We will do our deal with Turki and he will try and do his deal with Tyson Fury. Fingers crossed we can make it happen.”

Joshua recently dropped out of The Ring’s heavyweight rankings following a year of inactivity since his crushing fifth-round defeat to Daniel Dubois in September last year.

With Oleksandr Usyk as Ring Magazine champion, Fury remains No. 1 in the rankings despite announcing his retirement because his second fight with the Ukrainian icon took place in December.

Fury, 37, has reaffirmed his commitment to staying retired on many occasions, but Hearn has always remained steadfast in his belief that the Gypsy King could be tempted back with a lucrative offer to fight Joshua.

Regardless of what Fury chooses to do, two-time world heavyweight champion Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) is planning his return to boxing. As reported by The Ring this week, Hearn has suggested he could still box before the end of the year, if not early in 2026.

“AJ is in a great place,” he said. “When I get that phone call to say, 'Come see me, I’m ready,' he’s ready. He’s in camp now to fight.”

When asked whether he expects the Londoner to retain Ben Davison as his coach after three fights alongside him, Hearn said: “I expect so. He has been training with various different people. He’s got a great relationship with Ben and he knows Ben is No. 1 a very good coach and No. 2 from a research point of view maybe second to none in the sport.

“Right now he’s getting himself ready physically to do the hard part of camp, the sparring and that solid 8-10 week period and that’s imminent really. We’d like him to return this year.”