Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn provided a rather concerning update about the Anthony Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder fight.

Joshua and Wilder looked all but slated to fight in a highly-anticipated heavyweight contest that was set to take place January in Saudi Arabia. That was especially the case after Joshua made it two victories in a row following his brutal knockout win over Robert Helenius in London last month.

However, negotiations have been dragging lately with Joshua's promoter Hearn admitting that while massive fights take time to get finalized, the process was going particularly slow.

“It’s slow, I won’t lie,” Hearn told The DAZN Boxing Show (via Boxing Scene). “Obviously, it’s a massive fight and these things take time. Everything is kind of agreed other than the signing of the paperwork.

“We know that takes time, especially in that part of the world.”

Joshua has made it no secret that he wants to be active. He's fought twice in the last eight months and his plan is to ideally fight Wilder in January.

However, if negotiations continue to drag out and the fight eventually gets pushed back to February or March, there's a very high possibility Joshua returns to the ring earlier against a different opponent in the meantime.

“For me the biggest concern is AJ wants to fight in December or January,” Hearn added. “We know the Wilder fight is not going to happen in December, so we’re happy to wait until January – but if that fight starts pushing back to February or March, don’t be surprised if he still signs for that fight but has another one in-between.

“He’s loving the activity at the moment. He’s loving being in training camp, he’s loving working with Derrick James. But our full focus is to sign the Deontay Wilder fight. I’m not disappointed, but we want to get it done.”

While the good news is that Hearn's priority is to sign the Wilder fight, it's still a cause for concern that negotiations are going slowly, especially as it seemed both fighters wanted the fight now more than ever before.

It's also extra concerning given that Joshua and Wilder have failed to fight each other multiple times in the past when they were both heavyweight champion.

Hopefully, boxing fans can get a fight announcement in the coming weeks.