It looks set to be an interesting year for heavyweight boxing in 2018: especially so because of the return of Tyson Fury.

The controversial Mancunian has not fought a professional bout since the end of 2015, but he is in line to make his return to the sport in 2018 after settling a long-running dispute with UK Anti-Doping last December.

And with his return to the ring imminent, Fury seems to only have his eyes on one man: Anthony Joshua.

The 29-year-old has challenged Joshua to a fight numerous times in recent months, often using Twitter to call him out.

That includes earlier last month, when Fury tweeted Joshua: "As a sporting challenge I Lay Down the challenge for Anthony Joshua to fight me in my first fight back in over 2.5 years!"

"I'm the best heavyweight on the planet come prove I'm not? The ball is in your court don't let your fans down CHAMP."

EDDIE HEARN PROVIDES UPDATE

Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn, has previously suggested that he is open to a fight between Joshua and Fury in the future, but latest developments have seriously jeopardized chances of the all-British clash.

Fury looks set to sign a deal to work with Frank Warren, and Hearn believes this will make a fight between Joshua and Fury extremely difficult.

"It probably does [make it hard to make the Joshua fight]. Who knows what his contract will entail. Will he sign for Frank? Maybe not, but will he work with him? Probably," Hearn said, per Manchester Evening News.

"You've got to pay Fury three or four million in his first fight, as that's what we would, so Frank must be as well, but the only way I think you can do that is on PPV and I don't believe Frank has a PPV system in place."

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS COULD JEOPARDIZE FIGHT FURTHER

Hearn has consistently announced that Joshua is only interested in those that hold a heavyweight belt in 2018, meaning if the Briton defeats Joshua Parker in March, a fight against Deontay Wilder seems increasingly likely.

Incredibly, despite having not fought for over two years, Fury did hold the Ring Magazine title going into 2018, but was stripped of it earlier today after failing to announce a fight in January.

This means, unless Fury manages to regain a belt, the likelihood that he fights Joshua in the near future is extremely slim.