WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (39-0, 38 KOs) is still crossing his fingers that by the end of the year he will face the winner of the upcoming unification WBA, IBO, IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (20-0, 20 KOs) and WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker (24-0, 18 KOs).
Parker and Joshua finalized a deal to collide on March 31 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
And Wilder is scheduled to make his next defense in the same month, when he takes on undefeated Cuban banger Luis Ortiz on March 3, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Wilder is going to make a big push for the winners of the two heavyweight bouts to face each other by the end of the year.
"The winner goes on to fight the winner of Joshua-Parker," Wilder told Sky Sports News about his defence against Ortiz.
"This is the build-up and the lead-up to the mega-fight, the unification bout. One man will have all of the belts, once and for all. It's like a tournament. May the best man win. The best two will come together for one special night, one special moment, for the world to see. The sooner the better for me, and I think the fans would agree. Whenever they are ready, I'm ready.
"I have no doubt that I will win my bout. I will knock out Luis Ortiz out - I will do what I do best, I am a knockout artist. I specialise in it. I will display that."
On the other end, Wilder expects Joshua vs. Parker to be a very long fight - and he feels strongly that neither boxer will win with a knockout victory.
"It will be a long, drawn-out fight," Wilder said of Joshua vs Parker.
"If [it doesn't end in the late] rounds, I say it will go the distance. That's up to Parker, and how he moves in the ring, how he lays his plan out, and sticks to the game-plan. He's in enemy territory and he's going to be an underdog, so he's at a disadvantage in this situation. If [Parker] does the right things, the way he has been told, I see it being a great fight.
"Both of them have attributes. Parker hasn't been a champion [for long]. He has movement, he is able to know when [opponents] are throwing punches, and I think he has a good IQ in the ring. He's definitely going to need it against AJ. AJ has the range, he has the height, and he can get a guy out of there. It makes a great fight."
