World heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder has finally reached an agreement with the promoter of Anthony Joshua, Eddie Hearn.
Unfortunately that does not mean they have signed the richest heavyweight fight in history but Wilder and Hearn have instead found some common ground in their assessment of 'boring' Tyson Fury.
Hearn famously labelled the 6ft 9in former WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight champion the 'most unentertaining fighter' he had ever seen ahead of Fury's challenge for Wilder's WBC title.
Now Wilder has cosigned the Matchroom boss as he kicked off the fight week war of words with Saturday's clash at the Staples Center here in Los Angeles fast approaching.
Wilder, 33, said: “There are a lot of things I don't agree with Eddie about – I can't stand that guy.
“But one thing I will agree with him on is that Fury is a boring guy. You never seen in him in any exciting fights.
“The most exciting fight I've seen him in was when Steve Cunningham laid him down on his back. Other than that, he's a boring bloke.
“But he won't have to worry about it for long. Come Saturday night, as long as he shows up, and give the fans what he want – that is all that is going to matter because I will do the rest.
“He is boring but I will make sure it is an exciting fight by bringing the excitement.”
With 39 of his 40 victories coming inside the distance, Wilder is arguably the most explosive fighter on the planet and undefeated Fury,27-0, is yet to face a fighter with such a fearsome KO ratio.
“He's nervous,” Wilder said. “And he should be.
“I got a 90 per cent KO ratio, he has never faced a fighter of my calibre, of my style, my speed or my power, he should be nervous.
“He's supposed to be a little frightened, that's OK. This is a gladiator sport.
“He will see, he will find out for himself, up close and personal. He will have the experience to feel it for himself. All the talk goes out the window.
“It is going to be an experience and I'm going to give him the best experience of his life.”
This is Wilder's pay-per-view debut and he has rather fancifully suggested that he and Fury could do a total of 2.5m buys, with the price set at $74.99 in the States and £19.95 in the UK.
In reality, a quarter of that total would be considered a success by the powers that be as Wilder attempts to continue the long and arduous transition from sports star to household name.
"This is my come out party,” he added.
“I don't feel pressure, I don't feel nervous, I feel ready to go. This is my moment in time.
“I'm never nervous, I'm more excited than anything, this is what I put all my time in for, this is what I make all the sacrifices for, sacrificing my body, sacrificing my kids, a lot of things that come with boxing and I'm finally here.
There are no nerves in me. There is one thing about me, I'm a play maker, I'm always shining under the big lights.
“Although I come from a small place, I know how to shine in the big lights.”
