Deontay Wilder’s trainer Malik Scott has called on the referee to protect his opponent this month.
Wilder will be fighting at the Day of Reckoning in Saudi Arabia on December 23, live on DAZN.
The former heavyweight champion will be facing off with Joseph Parker, who also once held a belt at heavyweight, and a win for either man would likely put them back in contention to reclaim gold.
However, Wilder is the favourite going into the match-up, and a victory for the American is widely expected to tee up a clash with another former titleist, two-time champion Anthony Josua, who headlines later the upcoming card with his fight against Otto Wallin.
Scott is backing his man to come through, and warned that Wilder is so dangerous that he will need the referee to keep the bout safe for his New Zealander opponent.
He told Betway: “I'm calling on the referee to make sure they're watching Joseph Parker closely and this goes for all of Deontay Wilder's opponents, but especially guys like Parker, who is in the second half of his career.
“A young guy gets hit early, boom, he takes it, he's got a whole career ahead of him, but these older guys who have already taken punches, and who have already been in these tough wars - I really advise the referee to look after these guys. Don't let these fights go longer than they really should go because Deontay is a pure killer.
“After the fight, the next day, Deontay will ask how his opponent is, but in that moment the ‘Bronze Bomber’ is trying to send you to the next dimension. I pray to God that the referee keeps a close eye on Joseph Parker and any guy that Deontay fights because if you hop in and try and throw some lucky punch, we're going to make you reach and we're going to make you pay tragically in a very, very horrific manner, that goes for anyone that Deontay hits. It's like walking on to a head-on collision. They're going to make Deontay's job easier if they come in thinking they're going to be able to come in and push him back.
“On December 23, Deontay Wilder will show the world exactly how special he is. And I'm not just talking about power, I'm talking about how intelligent he is to set up the power. How he gives out believable feints to set up the power. How he switches up speed and levels to set up the power. How he takes walks to set up the power - and when I say walks I mean walks in the way Jersey Joe Walcott used to take walks back in the day to create space to then put a demolition job on somebody.
“If Deontay on December 23 does everything that I know he can do, he will not only steal the show, but he will send shockwaves through the boxing world because his violence is now coming from a more systematic place, a place of intelligence, he's not just going out there and throwing punches. He's making them run into punches. It's going to be very, very violent.”