It looks like Oleksandr Usyk and his team will prioritize the Tyson Fury unification bout, manager Egis Klimas told Boxing Scene on Sunday.
However, should the heavyweight division's premier fight fail to materialize, then Team Usyk will instead target Filip Hrgovic — their mandatory challenger with the IBF.
"Hrgovic is the mandatory but if we're going to get the unification [against Fury] we're going to go for the unification," Klimas said.
"If the unification is not done of course Hrgovic will be next."
Usyk beat Daniel Dubois by ninth round stoppage on Sunday — a fight in which the Ukrainian dropped the British contender twice but not without controversy as Usyk himself fell to a Dubois shot that the referee deemed to be a low blow.
Fury, meanwhile, fights Francis Ngannou in a 10-round fight that could look more like an exhibition.
Ngannou, the UFC's former heavyweight king, sought a tentpole boxing event after leaving MMA's market-leading promotion.
Fury is widely expected to dismantle Ngannou with ease, thus setting up a potential heavyweight fight that would have all of the major championships on the line.
Boxing Scene reports that Usyk and his handlers prefer to secure that fight in 2024, and noted that discussions took place earlier this year but they were unable to agree to terms and went separate routes.
Should an undisputed heavyweight championship take place it would easily become one of the greatest bouts boxing can produce in this modern era, following another marquee showdown — the one between Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford, which Crawford won by demolition in July.
