Eddie Hearn insists WBC world champion Deontay Wilder doesn't want to fight Anthony Joshua later on in the year like he keeps telling people he does.
Joshua (20-0, 20KOs), who takes on Joseph Parker in a three-belt unification fight at Cardiff's Principality Stadium on Saturday, is being touted to fight Wilder next if victorious.
Wilder was supposed to be ringside in Cardiff and had made demands to be in the ring after the fight, but Hearn insisted that was no guarantee, which has ultimately contributed to Wilder's decision to stay at home.
"He [Wilder] said 'I must be in the ring after' and we said 'yeah, you'll probably be invited,' but it's not a script," Hearn told ESPN. "You don't get in the ring at this time. Anthony will probably call you into the ring, but it's not like we're announcing a fight.
"He's was going to work for Sky. I mean he would have been a yard from Anthony Joshua as he's getting interviewed but he just didn't fancy it. Dillian Whyte's there as well. He would have been calling Wilder's name out.
"Wladimir Klitschko -- he said he wanted the fight, he signed a contract. Joseph Parker -- he said he wanted the fight, he signed the contract. The others sometimes use Anthony Joshua's name to give themselves profile, but the reality is do they really want it? If they did, he'd be here this Saturday.
"The entire world's boxing media and sporting media will be there on Saturday. It would have been massive for Deontay Wilder's profile to be there, but for some reason he doesn't want to be there -- make of that what you will. That tells me one thing -- he doesn't really want this fight."
Hearn also has plans to take Joshua to other parts of the world, potentially to box in America as well as the Middle East.
"I think it's important for him to box in various territories over the course of his career," Hearn added. "Not just in America but in the Far East potentially, the Middle East, Africa. America's important. It's not a necessity but I feel like it's a box we should tick.
"It may come next and obviously people are talking about the Wilder fight as well. But really I think the dust will clear on Saturday night, and we'll see where the heavyweight landscape's at
"Right now the only focus is on beating Joseph Parker on March 31."