As negotiations between WBC champion Deontay Wilder and IBF, WBO and WBA kingpin Anthony Joshua limp towards an unsatisfactory conclusion, Matchroom Sports Chairman Barry Hearn has revealed his opinion on proceedings.

The back and forth conversation between the two camps has become increasingly fractious, but Hearn believes he has identified the underlying problem; Wilder is jealous of what Joshua is able to earn.

Joshua has sold-out the 78,000 capacity Principality Stadium in his last three fights against Joseph Parker, Carlos Takam and Wladimir Klitschko, while Wilder has had to settle with drawing relatively modest crowds to the Barclays Centre and Legacy Arena in New York and Birmingham (Alabama) respectively.

"We appreciate Wilder isn't making any money," Hearn told Sky Sports. "He probably looks at Joshua with a good degree of jealousy.

"'I'm the biggest name in America but I'm earning less than a tenth of what Anthony earns per fight'."

The business of figuring out who deserves what in the upper echelons of boxing is a complicated process. It takes two to tango, and often the bigger draw must concede some financial ground to the B-side to ensure a fight happens and that the fans get what they want.

However, the $15 million flat fee offer made by Matchroom Sports to Wilder represents a massive increase in the American's typical purse.

Wilder earned a reported $1.5 million when he fought and defeated the dangerous Luis Ortiz in March this year, a fraction of the amount offered to him by Joshua's handlers.

And while Wilder may believe he deserves a bigger share of a pot which could potentially rise to somewhere in the region of $75 million to $100 million, his weak resume hardly suggests that he has earned such a pay-day.

Referring to the offer that has supposedly been presented to Wilder, Barry Hearn said:

"Wilder has something in front of him where he can plan his future. He can earn five or six times more than he's ever earned in his life.

"And if he's good enough, he's got all the cookies. Unbelievable! He will be massive.

"There's one obstacle: Anthony Joshua."

Earlier this week the WBA mandated that Joshua should begin negotiations with his mandatory challenger, Russian Alexander Povetkin, believing that they've given the British champion more than enough time to negotiate a unification bout with Wilder.

The sanctioning body seemed to have become disillusioned with the Joshua/Wilder negotiations and have acted to push the teams to conclude proceedings.

"AJ has a tough fight against Povetkin," Hearn added. "You saw what he did against David Price, he has fast hands and is as tough as boots.

"Klitschko gave him a beating but (Povetkin) didn't take a backwards step. It's a tough fight and AJ mustn't overlook that."

As it becomes increasingly unlikely that Joshua and Wilder will meet this year, it may be better for all concerned to park that thought for now and allow Joshua to fulfill his mandatory obligation against the tough, experienced Russian.