Anthony Joshua’s immediate future revolves around Dillian Whyte at the O 2 Arena in London on Saturday night – but in a moment of unexpected candour, the former world champion David Haye let slip on Friday that he and Joshua are scheduled to collide, “very shortly.”

Joshua and Whyte, both unbeaten, weighed in ahead of their 12-rounder for the British title vacated by Tyson Fury, and Haye, who returns next month after an absence of three and a half years, was a more than interested spectator in the Sky commentary team.

“Hopefully I get through my fight [against Mark de Mori on 16 January] and he gets through his fights, then without a doubt our paths are going to pass very shortly – a world title, eliminator for a world title,” Haye said. “If he keeps doing what he’s doing, there’s no doubt we’ll fight at some stage.”

Joshua agreed. “You heard it here first,” he said. “That’s what it’s about. As with a fighter’s mentality, you’ve both got work to do beforehand. But some time, down the line, our paths will cross – whatever it’s for. You’ve got two great athletes. This is where you heard it first.”

Haye, the former WBA champion, clearly was impressed with Joshua, who weighed 17st 5lb, two pounds lighter than his Brixton opponent, who beat him in the amateurs.

“He’s done everything he needs to do to get the victories,” Haye said of Joshua. “He’s in fantastic condition, a former Olympic champion and he’s fighting undefeated fighters. The last one he fought [unbeaten Scot Gary Cornish in a minute and 37 seconds], he knocked him out pretty cleanly.

“This for me is going to show exactly where he is. If he can do the same type of performance as he’s done in, say, his last fight, that then says, OK, he’s one of the best heavyweights on the planet.”

Haye added: “I’m back in this very arena in five weeks tomorrow, so I’m looking forward to that, fighting Mark de Mori. I’ve been out for three and a half years now, so I’m watching these guys coming through, knocking people out, sitting home on the sofa thinking I want to get involved in some of that. I’m hoping that it’s a great fight tomorrow night. I’m sure it will be.

“Whenever you get two undefeated fighters, you’re going to get fireworks and explosions, no matter how long it lasts. Fingers crossed, sit back and enjoy the show.”

David Haye with Carl Froch on punditry duty at the weigh-in. Photograph: John Walton/PA

Until Muhammad Ali exploded on to the scene at the Miami Convention Center in 1964 to give the supposedly bloodless Sonny Liston cause to wonder about his opponent’s sanity, weigh-ins were mainly perfunctory affairs. In the modern era they are the penultimate chapter of a carefully scripted drama, fully a day before the climax. So when Joshua and Whyte went through the motions on Friday, expectations were high. They fell a little flat, though.

Whyte turned his back on Joshua after they got off the scales, but Joshua walked around to face him, and there were nervous smiles all round. “I don’t think he’s as confident as he’s making out,” the retired super-middleweight champion Carl Froch observed of Whyte.

Earlier, there was minor drama between Chris Eubank Jr and Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan, who meet on the undercard for the right to contest the WBA middleweight title. Eubank, after his father had performed a weirdly out-of-sync dance on the edge of the stage, came in a couple of ounces over – wearing designer gloves. He removed the fashion accessory and went away to shed the extra weight.

“I’m a tiny bit over, so I’m going to come back and weigh in,” Eubank said. “I’m in the zone. This is the biggest fight of my life. I’ve trained like a dog. It’s punishment time. To fight for a full world championship is a dream come true.”

“He’s on point,” his father said. “He’s strong. He’s got the jab. I hope he enjoys every moment of it.”

O’Sullivan, who came in under the 160lb limit, was singularly unimpressed – as were officials of the British Boxing Board of Control when he moved in and kissed Eubank flush on the mouth.