Tyson Fury's promoter, Frank Warren, has warned that Anthony Joshua's planned interim bout in July could derail their long-awaited heavyweight showdown if Joshua loses. The two British former world champions have signed a deal to fight this year, but Joshua must first face little-known Albanian Kristian Prenga on 25 July in Saudi Arabia.
"If he loses to this guy, it kills the fight," Warren told BBC Sport.
Warren, head of Queensberry Promotions which represents Fury, said the 37-year-old Fury does not want a long layoff and may take an interim fight himself before facing Joshua, possibly in late October at the earliest. Fury recently returned from a 15-month break with a points win over Arslanbek Makhmudov in April.
"Tyson wants to keep busy. That's the mentality he has," Warren said. "He needs focus, a date when he's going to fight, and at the moment we don't have that date."
Warren expects the loser of a Fury-Joshua bout to retire, though he added that Fury would like a rematch with undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk. The promoter also wants the fight held at Wembley Stadium rather than Saudi Arabia, which is funding the event.
"That's where everybody would like to see the fight," Warren said. "It's the national stadium – that is where it belongs."