A unification fight has been on the cards for a while, with Joshua holding the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO belts, while Fury is the WBC champion.
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Boxing fans have long craved to see the two Brits face off for the undisputed crown, but politics within the sport has threatened to prevent the bout.
Their handlers are in serious negotiations to finalise a two-fight series in 2021.
That’s according to Fury’s co-promoter Bob Arum, who is convinced everything will be signed off quickly.
The all-British mega-bout is close to being agreed after the WBO stepped in to handle the issue of the mandatory challenger to Joshua’s WBO belt Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua’s promoter believes the contract for a two-fight deal between the two world champions is all-but signed.
The first fight in their two-fight deal is likely to be around late May/early June, once this has been finalised, both camps will begin to look for potential venues across the globe.
The Top Rank CEO has been locked in negotiations with Joshua’s representative Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport over a potential unification bout this coming summer.
The 32-year-old posted a series of stories on his Instagram page showing the rather unglamorous side to his career, including several cold jogs all by himself such as the one he went on Monday.
Joshua, 31, turned professional in 2013 following his Olympic triumph the year before at the London Games.
The two men have been on a collision course for a number of years, with Fury making it clear that he wants the unification clash to take place next.
WBC champion Fury is set to face Joshua, who holds the WBA, IBF and WBO titles, with talks ongoing to stage a massive showdown to decide the world’s No 1 heavyweight.
The unified champion dealt with IBF mandatory Kubrat Pulev in clinical fashion at the SSE Arena in Wembley before Christmas to end his 12-month ring exile.
However, this will happen if he does not fight another Briton, Tyson Fury, according to BoxingScene.
The Matchroom supremo insisted on Sunday that only a few minor issues are yet to be resolved in the latest indication that both British stars will soon fight to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
Joshua returned to the ring following a 12-month absence last weekend, knocking out the obdurate Kubrat Pulev in the ninth round of a one-sided fight.
Joshua, the IBF, WBA and WBO titleholder, retained his belts against Kubrat Pulev on Saturday, but has never fought his fellow Brit, who kept his WBC belt by beating Deontay Wilder in February.
Femi Adesina, the President’s spokesman in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, said Buhari made his feelings known while celebrating the decisive victory of the Nigerian-born boxer over Kubrat Pulev on Saturday night.
The IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion realises Pulev stands between him and the biggest British boxing match in the sport’s history, a showdown with WBC champ Tyson Fury in 2021.
The touchpaper between the pair was lit again on Monday when the WBC belt holder responded to an interview Londoner Joshua did with the Mail on Sunday.