Eddie Hearn: Wladimir Klitschko is 'not the right fight' for Anthony Joshua - but that's what makes it exciting

Eddie Hearn says Wladimir Klitschko is "not the right fight" for Anthony Joshua but believes that is precisely what makes the heavyweight bout so appealing.

Joshua is close to agreeing a deal to fight the Ukrainian, with a formal announcement on the contest expected in the coming days.

The British fighter is set to put his IBF title on the line while the WBA and WBO belts Tyson Fury recently relinquished could also be part of the package.

Klitschko's nine-year reign as champion was brought to an end by Fury in November 2015 but the 40-year-old represents a dangerous opponent for Joshua and promoter Hearn is excited by the prospect of seeing the pair go toe-to-toe.

"Terms are virtually there between the two now, there are plenty of things that have got to fall into place.

"I don’t think it is the right fight for Anthony Joshua. But isn’t that what’s exciting about it?” he told BBC Radio Five Live.

“You can’t really win as a promoter because on the one hand people are saying ‘oh you’re putting him into too easy fights’ and then you put him in a fight where people say ‘oh that’s a bit early for him isn’t it?’.

"Well that’s the excitement. You look at the odds with the bookmakers and they’re even money in the fight. It’s a complete 50-50 fight."

Joshua boasts superior speed but Klitschko has an unrivalled degree of experience when compared to the 27-year-old, having been involved in 68 heavyweight encounters during an illustrious career.

Hearn admits the fight may come too early for Joshua, who has had just 17 professional fights, but remains confident his fighter can cause Klitschko plenty of problems.

"The freshness, the sharpness leads you to Anthony Joshua, then the experience [of Klitschko] says Anthony Joshua doesn’t have a chance.

"But let’s see. It’s definitely a jump too early, it’s his 17th professional fight, he’s never been in with anyone like Wladimir Klitschko, anyone with the experience of Wladimir Klitschko.

"But I also believe Wladimir Klitschko has never been in the ring against anyone like Anthony Joshua."