By Keith Idec

LOS ANGELES – Tyson Fury relayed a story Wednesday about conducting an informal poll on the streets of the United States’ second-biggest city Tuesday.

According to Fury, he randomly asked 50 people if they know Deontay Wilder. The lineal heavyweight champion claimed only two people responded with a yes.

Fury’s point was that Wilder’s profile in his home country doesn’t match that of an undefeated, talkative knockout artist who has owned a heavyweight title for nearly four years.

“Listen, Wilder has taken this fight, right?,” Fury said during their final press conference at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites for their fight Saturday night at Staples Center. “He needs me. Wilder needs me – let’s make no mistake about this matter. Wilder’s been a WBC champion since [January] 2015. He’s made seven defenses of his world title, but he’s still unknown in this country. So what do they need to do? Bring in a big-mouth Brit from England, the best fighter on the planet, and let Wilder get his ass kicked! And on Saturday night, the whole world will know Wilder as the person that Tyson Fury just knocked out.

“So he will get fame out of this. And it is a very good stunt by Al Haymon and DiBella and the rest of his team. Get himself a good hiding from Tyson Fury. Then he can rebuild, and start again and fight somebody else. And then he’ll have a name. Even if they lose to me, they still got a name because I’ve given him fame.”

Wilder’s ratings on Showtime and FOX have been some of the highest produced by any American fighter in recent years. And like England’s Fury, the WBC champion could earn eight figures for their Showtime Pay-Per-View main event Saturday night.

The course of Wilder’s career doesn’t just depend on the result of the fight itself, though. If Wilder defeats Fury, the amount of pay-per-views their fight produces will determine his bargaining power for the fight Wilder wants most – a showdown with IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO champion Anthony Joshua (22-0, 21 KOs).

Wilder acknowledged Wednesday that he’s not as big a star in the United States as Fury and Joshua are in the United Kingdom. The Tuscaloosa, Alabama, native argued, however, that it’s easier for boxers to become crossover stars in that boxing-loving region than in the United States, where boxing has been relegated to a niche sport.

“Wilder said it’s easy to make it in Britain,” Fury said. “But some of the best fighters in the world come from Britain. It ain’t easy to make it in Britain. Britain’s a very hard place to make it as a fighter. So many good fighters there. If you look at the top five or six heavyweights in the world, four of them are from Great Britain. So if that’s an easy place to make it, wow! Take me somewhere easier.”

 The 33-year-old Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs) and the 30-year-old Fury (27-0, 19 KOs) will headline Showtime’s four-fight telecast. The show, scheduled to start at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, costs $74.99 to view in HD in the United States and £19.95 in HD in the United Kingdom (BT Sport Box Office).

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.