There has already been a report about Deontay Wilder having no desire to step aside from his impending trilogy fight with Tyson Fury, so that Anthony Joshua and Fury could vie for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world.
But that isn't stopping Matchroom Boxing USA president Eddie Hearn from simulating how the boxing world would react to Wilder doing such a thing anyway.
"Of course it would be showing weakness. It would actually be embarrassing to be honest," Hearn told iFL TV during a recent interview.
"If you take step-aside money, you're showing horrific weakness because you're giving someone an opportunity to take what you should feel is yours — without you getting an opportunity to win it back," he continued. "If you believe in yourself and back yourself, you should never step aside. Never."
Hearn went as far as to compare Wilder's plight to Joshua's situation last year when he was shocked in a seventh-round TKO to Andy Ruiz Jr. in June, before exacting revenge via unanimous decision to regain his IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles in their rematch in December.
"That is what AJ said the other night," Hearn recalled. "He said there is not an amount of money in the world that you could have given me to not take that fight."
After Fury pummeled Wilder toward a resounding seventh-round TKO to become the new WBC heavyweight champion in February, the rivals were supposed to fight this summer before the ongoing coronavirus pandemic dashed those plans until at least this fall. Despite Wilder remaining silent since suffering his first pro loss, Hearn hasn't stopped wishfully drumming up a beat about a step-aside deal, which would free Fury up.
Fury and Kubrat Pulev fight under Top Rank, and Joshua has a mandatory defense of his unified heavyweight titles against Pulev. Hearn has previously said he believes that Pulev would be willing step aside if Wilder does so.
But such a scenario is far from Top Rank's mind right now.
"I have not personally had any conversations about that. It is not on my radar," Top Rank president Todd DuBoef told Sky Sports last week, discarding any thoughts of Wilder being interested in stepping-aside money, so Joshua could face Fury for undisputed glory. "I am working with Wilder's representatives on coming up with new potential dates in late summer or early fall for the Fury fight. We are speaking about potential venues, too.
"That fight breaking up as a result of (Joshua vs. Fury) fight? I have not been privy to any conversations about that," he added. "I have not heard that they are willing to step aside. Nobody has communicated that."