Tyson Fury has been ordered to fight Deontay Wilder for a third time, casting doubt over a proposed August super bout with Anthony Joshua.
An American legal mediator ruled that Fury must go through with his contracted trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder by September.
The showdown for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world was given the green light by lawyers for Fury and Joshua.
The American's team had long argued their fighter had a contractual right to a third fight with Fury.
But after delays caused by the pandemic led to a July 2020 contest being postponed, Wilder's team sought to move the bout to 2021.
Fury refused the 2021 date and said he would move on. That prompted mediation overseen by American judge Daniel Weinstein, who has now sided with Wilder and set a 15 September deadline for a third contest.
"Until we can reach an accommodation with Deontay Wilder's people, I can't say that [Fury's fight with Joshua] will definitely happen," Fury's promoter Frank Warren told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme.
"But we are working hard to get that over the line. We were talking last night and hopefully we can do that. If not then Tyson, if he wishes, will go to the fight with Wilder. They're the only two options."
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