EDDIE HEARN has urged Anthony Joshua to have two dream fights before "sailing off into the sunset".
The promoter had been negotiating a blockbuster between AJ and Deontay Wilder in Saudi Arabia.
But talks broke down and now the super-fight looks to be shelved until next year.
Hearn hopes the bout can be revisited to help set up an ideal pair of showdowns for Joshua against Wilder and then Tyson Fury.
He told Boxing Social: "AJ has had two fights this year and taken much less money than he’s used to but he’s not that bothered.
"He wants momentum and activity but he also wants the big fights.
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"AJ wants to fight Tyson Fury more than anything in the world and really when I’m mapping out his career I see Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury as the final two for him to compete against.
"In my vision AJ fights Deontay Wilder, knocks him and fights Tyson Fury and beats him and then retires.
"Then he’s done the lot and we can just sail off into the sunset.”
Joshua, 34, suffered consecutive points losses to Oleksandr Usyk, 36, to leave his career on the rocks.
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But he returned with two victories this year, on points against Jermaine Franklin, 30, and a knockout over Robert Helenius, 39.
Hearn wanted AJ to face Wilder, 38, after but Saudi Arabian backers pulled out of talks.
So it means Joshua could instead return in an interim bout before the mega-fight is looked at again.
He said: “We’re in talks about Las Vegas, we’re in talks about sites in the Middle East and I do think we’ll see that fight.
"I do think AJ will fight in December or early January and then I think there is no other fight other than the Deontay Wilder fight and that’s the one that we want, we’ve wanted it for a while now.
"We were ready to take it in January, we’re happy to take it in March and April.”
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