Deontay Wilder doesn't need to fight Anthony Joshua to prove he is the best heavyweight in the world - his actions already suggest that.
That's the view of Jay Deas, the WBC champion's trainer and co-promoter.
Deas is currently overseeing Wilder's preparation for his scheduled fight against Briton Tyson Fury on December 2 (NZT). Kiwi heavyweight Junior Fa is attending Wilder's Tuscaloosa camp as a sparring partner.
Speaking to Newshub, Deas reaffirmed their position that Joshua, the IBF, WBO and WBA champion, ducked a unification fight with the American, instead opting to take on former drugs cheat Alexander Povetkin last month.
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Deas said Wilder's upcoming fight with former heavyweight champion Fury proved his charge's thirst to fight the best in the world.
"We know that Deontay is the holder of the biggest, most prestigious belt and we know that he is the one who wants to fight the best," Deas told Newshub.
"The bottom line as far as AJ [Joshua] is concerned, you have to ask yourself three questions - did AJ say he'd fight for $50m? The answer is yes.
"Did we offer $50m? The answer is yes
"Did he then take the fight? The answer is no, so that's pretty much all you need to know.
"We know that Deontay wants to fight best. We know that Tyson Fury is the one who stepped up to the plate.
"So, as far as we're concerned, the best two heavyweights in the world are going to be fighting December 1 [local time]."
Deas believed the fight with Joshua was destined to happen, as the two continued to eliminate the pretenders.
But he said Wilder had developed a chip on his shoulder, after the about-face from the Brit's team in the past few months.
Deas said Wilder would fight anywhere in the world if it provided the opportunity to prove his pedigree.
"Absolutely," Deas said. "Deontay has always wanted to fight the best, that’s why he was prepared to go to Russia.
"He's the first US heavyweight champ to go to Russia to fight Povetkin. That fight didn’t happen [Povetkin failed a drugs test], so he immediately called out [Luis] Ortiz and won a classic contest against the best technical boxer in the division.
"Both guys - Tyson and Deontay - should be commended for stepping up to the plate and making the fight.
"Fighters should realise they have more power than they think and if a fighter wants a fight made, he can go to his people and say, 'I want this fight, make this fight and make it now'.
"That's exactly what both these two champion fighters did."
Fury poses a genuine threat to Wilder's unblemished 40-fight record, which includes 39 knockouts.
'The Gypsy King' is also undefeated, scoring 19 knockouts in 27 fights, and in 2015, he won all-but Wilder's WBC title, when he beat great Ukranian Wladimir Klitschko by decision in Germany.
The enigmatic Brit then took a three-year hiatus from the sport, returning in June and winning two fights in the build-up to his showdown with Wilder at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles next month.
Deas told Newshub that Fury's trash talk game was backed up by what he did inside the ring and Wilder would need to deliver a career-best performance to topple the 30-year-old.
"People say Klitschko didn't do anything, but he didn't do anything for a reason and the reason was Tyson Fury," Deas said.
"Fury has a way of hypnotising you and making you do less, because you're watching all of those antics and motions that he brings to the table
"So it's very important not to be in round 8, 9, 10, thinking, 'we're going to catch him with one shot, we just have to land one shot'. That's not the way to go
"We have to make inroads through the early party of the fight, not get hypnotised, stick to the gameplan and if we do that, I think we can wear him down to the point where there will be opportunities available in the latter part of the fight that maybe weren’t available earlier.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is, with Fury you have to make your opportunities, you can't wait for them."
Newshub.
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