WBC champion Deontay Wilder has humiliated Hughie Fury and called out Joseph Parker to initiate an immediate unification bout.
Fury pulled out of his May 6 fight with Parker in Auckland for the WBO heavyweight title, citing a back injury.
That has left Paker's handlers scrambling for a last-minute opponent with the WBO quickly sanctioning a voluntary defence against one of their other top 15 fighters.
It's understood Duco Events are making good progress and hope to announce a credible opponent on Wednesday or Thursday.
There's no shortage of candidates putting their hands up and the latest is Wilder who has long spoken of his desire to fight Parker with both the WBC and WBO titles on the line.
He believes that should happen immediately now that Fury has been sidelined. But Wilder first aimed a decent left-hook at the big Brit's injury claim before turning his attention to Parker.
"I'm going to cut straight to the chase ... I've heard about this Hughie Fury bagging out two weeks before a fight. Come on man, I know they have a history of doing stuff, family history at that. Oh yeah, I heard about the injury. They said it was a lack of self-confidence and that sounds about right," Wilder said in a video on his Twitter account.
"But anyway, moving on ... Joseph Parker if you are really serious about fighting somebody, if you are really serious about unifying the division, if you are really serious about giving the fans what they want to see, then what other person is available than me?
"I've got the WBC, you've got the WBO, let's make it happen. I'm available right now.
"Forget these other scrubs, that's up in the division coming up. Right now you're talking about another champion versus another champion. Let's make a unification bout and at the end of the year we'll get a mega fight against the winner of Klitschko and Joshua."
There's sense to Wilder's logic but he will come too expensive for Duco to consider for this promotion, a bit like fellow American Dominic Breazeale who confirmed his availability on Monday for a short-notice fight.
Amongst the nonsense offers came one from Hughie Fury's cousin, troubled former world champion Tyson Fury.
Tyson provided a light moment in a bitter war between the two camps when he tweeted: "@joeboxerparker if u need an opponent I'm not doing much ATM I'll come short notice, #gypsyking #26stone."
Tyson hasn't fought since he beat Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 to open up the division.
He had to vacate his belts last year as he plunged into a drugs and alcohol binge and mental health issues.
He doesn't have a current boxing licence.
Ironically the WBO belt up for grabs in Auckland was vacated by Tyson Fury.
Parker won it by beating Mexico's Andy Ruiz last December and the fight against Hughie Fury was to be his first defence.
The Parker camp has fired volleys at the Furys, doubting the injury to Hughie and questioning their desire to come to New Zealand.
The Fury's have hit back, saying the injury is real and they will come to New Zealand for a re-scheduled fight. They claim the Kiwis wanted to take the fight north to Britain because of financial struggles with the Auckland promotion.
At least Tyson Fury is keeping his humour at a tense time.
Photo: Getty Images (American Deontay Wilder's size and power have seen him dominate the WBC rankings).