A decision on Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk's rematch will be made in a couple of weeks, promoter Eddie Hearn has explained.

The IBF, IBO, WBO and WBA champion is currently back in his homeland where he has joined other Ukrainians in fighting for their freedom in the face of Russia's invasion.

Joshua was soundly beaten by Usyk last year and will have the chance to exact revenge in a few months

Hearn acknowledges it is a delicate topic, but is working towards a spring date unless told otherwise.

"No-one's spoken to me from team Usyk to say 'there could be a problem'," the Matchroom chairman said recently. "There's bigger things on their plate right now I guess, quite frankly.

"We respect that, it's an emotional time for those guys and that country. We're preparing still for May or early June and I expect to finalise a date with [Usyk promoter] Alex Krassyuk as planned over the next one or two weeks."

Usyk soundly defeated Joshua via unanimous decision last September at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and AJ immediately invoked his rematch clause.

It is set to be a big couple of months for boxing, with the fight expected to follow Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte on April 23.

Joshua has stated he will be changing his training camp for the Usyk rematch, which is likely to be in a new location with additional trainers.

He is currently talking to Virgil Hunter, who is famed for guiding Andre Ward's career, however, according to Usyk's assistant coach, Sergey Lapin, that won't make a difference.

Virgil Hunter, left, who Joshua is learning from, previously trained Andre Ward and Amir Khan

Lapin believes Joshua would have been better off taking money to step aside and let Fury fight Usyk for an undisputed title fight as he would have had longer with a new trainer.

"Compensation for Joshua to step aside would have been a better option for Joshua as he would have had more time to correct his mistakes and prepare for the fight," he told mybettingsites.

"Joshua is a strong guy, he has been boxing for a long time, he has fought some serious opponents, but as far as the rematch goes, Joshua will not learn anything new in four months, no matter how many new coaches there are in his camp.

"I think Joshua will change his fighting strategy towards a more aggressive style, but will he be able to maintain this pace, will his conditioning be enough for this? We will only be able to see in the ring.

"That's the essence of boxing, not only big muscles and size playing a role here, it's very important how your boxing IQ works and how quickly you make decisions. Usyk will be preparing for the same Joshua, taking into account the mistakes of the previous fight."