Top promoter Frank Warren remains "hopeful" of staging the much-anticipated showdown between Olympic gold medallist Audley Harrison and British heavyweight champion Matt Skelton this autumn.

Skelton, 37, claimed the Lonsdale Belt and the Commonwealth title with a 12th-round knockout of Michael Sprott in April.

Harrison, 32, took his pro record to 17-0 when beating the previously undefeated Tomasz Bonin in London last month, in his last fight for the BBC.

Warren told Sky Sports' Ringside programme: "I would like to do that fight in September.

"We've been talking to Audley, we've been talking to Hazel (Bruno-Gilbert) his business adviser, we've had meetings with his lawyer.

"It's all about money, like it's always about money. It's also about being realistic, and hopefully I think we've got a good chance of making the fight."

Warren is also keen to set up a clash between Britain's top two cruiserweights, Sheffield veteran Johnny Nelson and rising Welsh star Enzo Maccarinelli.

Long-reigning WBO champion Nelson, 37, has pledged to hang up his gloves at Christmas and feels 23-year-old WBU title holder Maccarinelli is not yet ready to step up in class.

However, Warren said: "I want to make Enzo Maccarinelli and Johnny Nelson. I know Johnny says he doesn't want to do that but I want them both to fight each other and I think it's a good fight."

One fight which is "dead in the water" according to Warren, though, is Joe Calzaghe's challenge for Glencoffe Johnson's IBF light-heavyweight title.

The proposed bout has had to be postponed twice due to injuries picked up by Calzaghe and Johnson has chosen to pursue other alternatives.

"It's a nightmare. People were ducking Joe Calzaghe, we make the fight, we finally get it on, we sign the contract and Joe gets injured," said Warren.

"He had personal problems, we know, but he had this problem with his back, we rescheduled the date and it was out again.

"Glencoffe Johnson was the champion, not Joe. If Joe was the champion I could have kept postponing the fight until he was fit. But as he's the challenger, Johnson wants to capitalise on what he's got so he moves in another direction.

"You can't blame him for that, because I would do the same thing, so now that fight's dead in the water unless Johnson beats Roy Jones.

"Now Joe will have to go back to defending his WBO super-middleweight title. There are only two fights for him at light-heavyweight, Roy Jones or Johnson, and they are fighting each other.

"In the meantime he's got to have a fight, I've got to give him a fight. So now I've got to find an attractive fight for him. It's a pain."