Anthony Joshua's Promoter Eddie Hearn Discusses Deontay Wilder, Jarrell Miller

Anthony Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn has said a title unification bout with Deontay Wilder remains AJ's priority in 2019, but he could face unbeaten American challenger Jarrell Miller instead if a fight between the two can't be made for April. 

Joshua is scheduled to defend his WBA, WBO and IBF belts at Wembley Stadium in April and is still without an opponent. Wilder is expected to face Tyson Fury in a rematch for his WBC belt, and while the winner of Saturday's bout between Dereck Chisora and Dillian Whyte is seen as the favourite to be Joshua's next opponent, Miller is also an option, Hearn told MailOnline's Daniel Matthews.

The promoter also said he wants to sort out Joshua's next fight by early January and he could fight in the United States, rather than London:

"After Saturday it will be clearer as to what we're going to do. (We want) a deal in place, pretty much, certainly by the end of the year or first thing in January.

"We were at Madison Square Garden last week and Joshua did like it and thought it'd be nice to box here this year.

"(Miller) would be the ultimate, perfect guy to do that if it wasn't Wilder. So there are a lot of things that have to happen for that fight to be next but I wouldn't rule it out."

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Joshua hasn't been in action since beating Alexandr Povetkin in September, taking his record to 22-0.

There has been little news about a possible opponent since, likely due to Joshua's camp waiting for the outcome of the December bout between Wilder and Fury. The trio are the biggest names in the division right now, and the winner of that fight would have been the lineal champion, giving Joshua the chance to grab the WBC belt and lineal title in 2019.

Fury and Wilder battled to a controversial draw, however, and are now expected to rematch, leaving Joshua without a high-profile opponent.

Whyte and Chisora faced each other in a spectacular 12-round slugfest in 2016, which Whyte won by split decision. The Body Snatcher has taken four more wins since, including over former top prospect Joseph Parker, and is now a legitimate title contender.

His only loss came at the hands of rival Joshua and a rematch between those two would undoubtedly sell well, although Joshua believes Whyte won't beat Chisora again:

If Joshua opts not to face the winner of Saturday's bout, Miller could be another option. The 30-year-old has stopped his last two opponents inside of four rounds, and while his resume is lacking big names, he has been steadily building his profile in the UK:

Cruiserweight star Oleksandr Usyk has also seen his popularity in Britain soar since his impressive win over Tony Bellew, but he would likely need one or two fights against lesser opponents to get settled in the higher weight class should he decide to move up.