Eddie Hearn has warned David Haye that a loss to Tony Bellew will scupper any hopes of facing Anthony Joshua further down the line.

In recent weeks, Haye has stated his claim for an all-British world title bout with Joshua later in the year, once his business with Bellew is finished.

But Hearn, whose Matchroom Boxing promotes IBF champ Joshua, made it clear that any world title shot is off the table should Haye fall to Bellew in their grudge match on Saturday night.

“We’re looking at unification fights,” he told Sky Sports.

“The David Haye fight with Joshua is a big fight, but on Sunday that fight might not be existing ever again. We have to wait and see what happens.”

Although Hearn made it clear that Haye would need to defeat Bellew to stand a chance of challenging for Joshua’s gold, he also did little to extinguish the growing tension between the London duo.

“I don’t think he’s the biggest fan of David Haye. I have seen a few interviews lately with AJ, where he’s not bit, but sort of said I don’t like that guy.

“He likes Bellew and Bellew is with us, and AJ is with us, so obviously he’s going to want his stablemate to win the fight. AJ will be there, he’ll be ringside watching and taking it all in – like he always does.

“As far as AJ is concerned, and us of course, we only want one thing and that’s a Tony Bellew win.”

The eagerly anticipated contest takes place at the O2 in London on Saturday March 4, and it’s live on Sky Sports Box Office.

As for Joshua, he's currently focusing on his super fight with Wladimir Klitschko, which takes place at the end of April, but he has previously admitted that  he'd love to see Bellew knock Haye out.