Eddie Hearn, who promotes heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte, says a showdown with WBC world champion Tyson Fury is looking more unlikely, with each passing week, to take place in the month of March - if a deal is struck.

A WBC mandated purse bid is now scheduled to take place on Friday.

Last month, the sanctioned body set down an 80-20 split in Fury's favor.

But, Whyte has an ongoing legal battle with the WBC - attempting secure better split at the purse bid, with something closer to a 45% take.

If a deal gets done, Hearn believes the fight could land on a date in April or potentially a date in May.

He feels there is not enough time to properly promote a high profile stadium event for Fury's target return date of March 26.

"People keep talking about March dates - that's starting to look unrealistic for a fight of this magnitude," Hearn told BBC 5 Live Boxing. "Either March, April, early May potentially. This is the window for the fight. Depends what happens this week. There are so many conversations going on behind the scenes right now. Something could turn at any moment.

"You're talking about a lot of money - a difference of 25% [in the split dispute]. The normal split for any mandatory challenger is a lot more than 80-20. The normal split for an interim champion is up to 45%. We feel in terms of the commercial value of Dillian Whyte and the time he's had to wait, 80-20 is quite ridiculous really.

"[It] looks like Dillian Whyte will definitely get his shot at the WBC title, but we have to fight for his rights and make sure it's fair. It's not going to stand in the way of the fight."