Dillian Whyte has been warned Tyson Fury could end up facing either Andy Ruiz Jr or Joseph Parker instead in his next fight if a bout cannot be agreed.
The WBC have told Fury he must defend his title against Whyte - who has been waiting - next a few weeks after knocking out Deontay Wilder in October to put an end to their trilogy.
Whyte, 33, has been waiting for an opportunity to fight for the belt for what feels like almost an eternity after he first became the No1-ranked contender all the way back in late 2017.
But now his promoter Eddie Hearn and Fury's US promoter Bob Arum are reportedly working behind the scenes to agree terms for their bitter grudge match.
However, if a deal cannot be finalised, the Top Rank boss has revealed he would like Fury to face either Ruiz Jr, 32, or Parker, 29, in Cardiff.
“If we can’t come to a deal with Dillian Whyte, we’ll do a fight for the Ring Magazine belt and the ‘lineal’ title and we’ll pick another opponent," Arum told talkSPORT.
“We’ve gotta [sic] get Tyson back in the ring by the end of March…
“Frank [Warren] and I are determined to come to him with an opponent that’s acceptable and we’d love to do that fight in Cardiff.
“Andy Ruiz Jr is a possibility.
“Joseph Parker I see had a good victory over Derek Chisora – that could be a possibility.
“And we’re looking at a couple of other names that might be appropriate.”
The Gypsy King last fought in Las Vegas when he knocked out former champion Wilder in the eleventh round - successfully defending his Ring, WBC and lineal heavyweight championships.
After the fight, Fury admitted Oleksandr Usyk would be his preferred opponent for his first fight of 2022.
Usyk defends his belts against another British heavyweight in Anthony Joshua, 32, as the two are expected to meet again in a highly-anticipated rematch at some point early next year.
The Ukrainian recently claimed he would be willing to move back down to his old cruiserweight division to fight Mexican superstar Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez.
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