Anthony Joshua vs Joseph Parker is the biggest heavyweight fight in years as two world champions look to make the next big step towards being the undisputed champion.

It's why the fight is being marketed as 'Road to Undisputed', after all, and it's also meant that there has been a third-party involved throughout the build-up: WBC Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder.

A meeting with the American will be the ultimate goal for whoever comes out on top Saturday night - something Wilder knows all too well.

Joshua is going into the fight as the favourite and has thus had to deal with Wilder the most, at least in the press, with promoter Eddie Hearn frequently speaking out on the potential clash.

The latest comments from Hearn suggested that Wilder didn't actually want to fight Joshua at all - an accusation put to the champ after he rejected the chance to appear at Joshua/Parker in person.

Fans and fellow boxers have all spoken out on him turning the opportunity down as it would have been the ideal way to build up a fight with Joshua, so it's easy to see why people might get the impression that Wilder doesn't want that fight.

And according to a recent interview, they're right.

Wilder doesn't want to fight Joshua - he wants Parker.

"My heart is in between, it's on the fence," Wilder told fighthype.com, "but I'm definitely favouring Parker to try to win.

"I think we're gonna make a better unification thing with what's going on now - but may the best man win."

Wilder doesn't seem sure about who will take the win in the end but one thing he is sure on is that none of the three are going away anytime soon.

"Look - when I knock you out you can get back up," he said, "they're always talking about losing and this fear. You can get back up and dust yourself off.

"You're young, man, we're all young - we can fight each other three, four, five times - all of us.

"We can fight each other multiple times. It's not one-and-done. It's no hit-it and quit-it. It's no one night stand and don't call me no more. It's a relationship."

Wilder is right, of course; boxing history is littered with rivalries spanning multiple fights and there's no good reason that can't happen with this generation of heavyweight fighters.

And if that is the case, Joshua vs Parker may only be the beginning.