WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder is the latest member of the boxing fraternity to call out Joseph Parker following the withdrawal of Hughie Fury from the May 6 fight.
Early Sunday, Fury's team said he was suffering from a back injury, a claim which has since been questioned by Team Parker.
With Parker's handlers Duco chasing a replacement for Fury, sixth-ranked WBO boxer Dominic Breazeale has put his hat in the ring to fight next month.
However, American Wilder - who's held the WBC heavyweight belt since January 2015 - said it was time the WBC and WBO belts were unified.
"I'm going to cut straight to the chase," Wilder says in a video posted to social media.
"I hear about this Hughie Fury backing out two weeks before a fight. Ya'll already know they've got a history of doing stuff, family history at that.
"Joseph Parker, if you're really serious about fighting somebody, if you're really serious about unifying the division, if you're really serious about giving the fans what they want to see, then what other person is available, than me."
Wilder retained his belt against Gerald Washington in February and while he suggested that a May 6 fight was too soon, he was keen to see it done in 2017 with the winner to take on either Anthony Joshua or Wladimir Klitschko.
"Forget all them other scrubs… Right now you're talking about a champion versus another champion, let's make a unification bout at the end of the year, we'll get a mega fight against the winner of Klitschko and Joshua."
Currently, it's highly unlikely the fight would be Parker's next with Wilder not being a WBO-sanctioned fighter and not fitting the criteria for Parker's defense of his title.
Newshub.
