Eddie Hearn says he wants Anthony Joshua to fight Deontay Wilder in November or December this year.
But the Matchroom Boxing chief is not hopeful of convincing the WBC heavyweight champion to step in the ring for the unification bout fans want to see.
Wilder's camp recently voiced their desire to put off negotiations over a showdown with Joshua until 2020 prompting fears the fight may not happen.
Joshua has voiced his displeasure as he perceives the American to be avoiding him - but Hearn says they would ideally like to make the fight happen after his clash with Andy Ruiz Jr on June 1.
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"Hopefully in November-December. Josh is fighting June 1 and then he'll go in November-December, and that's when we want the Wilder fight," Hearn told Sky Sports.
"It's the only fight to make next for both guys, but everything we're hearing out of their camp is not really giving us much encouragement that this is the fight that is going to happen."
Hearn recently revealed he expected the fight could potentially be postponed until 2021 as Wilder gets set to face Luis Ortiz and Adam Kownacki after his May 19.
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Hearn told IFL TV: “I know that [Luis] Ortiz has already been promised the Wilder fight, I know that [Adam] Kownacki has already been promised the Wilder fight.
“So we’re not just talking about 2020, we might be talking about 2021 when Wilder’s available.
“It’s bulls*** for the sport of boxing it really is and it’s annoying because certain people without the brain capacity presume that Joshua doesn’t want to fight Wilder - you couldn't be more wrong.”
