By Keith Idec

NEW YORK – Eddie Hearn acknowledges that Dillian Whyte-Lucas Browne is the third most-anticipated heavyweight fight in boxing this month.

The Whyte-Browne bout clearly comes in behind Deontay Wilder’s 10th-round knockout of Luis Ortiz on March 3 and the Anthony Joshua-Joseph Parker title unification match March 31.

But Hearn – whose company, Matchroom Boxing, promotes Whyte – expects the transplanted British contender and the former WBA heavyweight champ to produce an action-packed slugfest Saturday night at O2 Arena in London.

The Jamaican-born Whyte, 29, is about a 4-1 favorite over Australia’s Browne, who’s nine years older and hasn’t been nearly as active. The unbeaten Browne isn’t the craftiest fighter in the heavyweight division, but the heavily tattooed veteran possesses power that typically serves as an equalizer in his fights.

“I think it’s the best fight in the heavyweight division outside of the world championship fights,” Hearn told BoxingScene.com recently. “I think it’s a 50-50. I think Lucas Browne is a huge puncher. I think they’re both extremely durable. Dillian Whyte has a good chin, but he has been hit quite a lot lately. And he must not get hit by Lucas Browne.

Whyte has been beaten only by the hard-hitting Joshua (20-0, 20 KOs), who stopped Whyte in the seventh round of their December 2015 battle at O2 Arena.

“I think it’s an absolute war of a fight and I think it could go any way,” Hearn said regarding Whyte-Browne. “I think it’ll end in a knockout. But again, Dillian Whyte is No. 1 in the WBC. If Lucas Browne beats him, he’s gonna be right there. And the winner of that fight is probably a future opponent for Anthony Joshua as well.”

The scheduled 12-rounder between Whyte (22-1, 16 KOs) and Browne (25-0, 22 KOs) will be the main event of a four-fight Sky Sports telecast Saturday night (7 p.m. GMT). HBO will broadcast Whyte-Browne in the United States (6 p.m. ET).

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.