For several years now, a clash between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua has been heavyweight boxing’s golden goose.

The potential fight between the two finest British heavyweights of their generation faced several obstacles over the years, largely due to bickering over promotional and broadcasting deals, as well as disagreements over who would be considered the ‘A Side’ in the bout (and therefore, who would take home the lion’s share of the purse).

But with Fury set to turn 36 in a matter of weeks and Joshua just three months out from his 35th birthday, it is hard to escape the feeling that the window of opportunity is closing — and should the two ever step into the ring to face one another, it could potentially be a re-run of the Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao bout from several years ago which many state took place at least five years past both fighters’ primes.

Fury recently suffered the first defeat of his career against Ukrainian icon Oleksandr Usyk and Joshua takes on another Briton in Daniel Dubois in London in September — and it is these hurdles, Fury’s manager posited, that could impede any progress on the Fury-Joshua bout.

“There’s no collision course if [Fury] doesn’t win the next fight. So it’s imperative he beats Usyk,” Spencer Brown told Sky Sports, as noted by The Independent.

“At his age I don’t know how much you can improve but there was very, very little in the fight between them, so let’s back our British guy and I’m sure he will win and then we’re going to talk about the next stage.”