Deontay Wilder has indicated he's not interested in dodging mandatory opponents, and he has defended his WBC heavyweight crown nine straight times.
However, Matchroom Boxing president Eddie Hearn says he believes that "The Bronze Bomber" might accept the WBC franchise title in order to avoid a showdown with Anthony Joshua or Dillian Whyte.
"You can't take anything Wilder says seriously," Hearn told Sky Sports. "First of all, he says 'one face, one name, one champion,' and then we chase the undisputed fight for over a year, and he don't want to now, and Joshua loses and it's 'one face, one name, one champion' again.
"Now he says he'll turn down a franchise belt," Hearn continued. "If he gets the opportunity to duck Dillian Whyte or Anthony Joshua, or anybody by being elevated to franchise champion, he would do it in a heartbeat. Don't take what Deontay Wilder says too seriously."
Hearn's stinging criticism comes after Wilder held a workout session at his training facility in Northport, Ala., last week and told reporters that he's not interested in the WBC franchise tag.
“Many people ask me about the franchise belt. I don’t know much about it,” Wilder said, as reported by BoxingScene.com. "What I’m hearing, it allows you to stay a champion, you don’t have to fight mandatories and stuff like that. If that’s the case, I’m not interested. I want the mandatories. Guys work their way up, work hard to get to No. 2, and then become a mandatory. Why would you crown someone that doesn’t have to have mandatories?”
Wilder's recent actions reinforce his comments, as he compared then-mandatory challenger Dominic Breazeale to a fly buzzing around his ears, before swatting him with a first-round KO in May.
Currently, Wilder is preparing to defend his title in a rematch with Luis Ortiz on Nov. 23 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Wilder overcame a rough seventh round in their original clash to score a rousing 10th-round TKO of Ortiz back in March 2018.