Former undisputed two-weight champion Evander Holyfield believes that WBC champion Deontay Wilder is the best heavyweight fighter in his division and ranks him above both Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.

The 56-year-old American conceded that although AJ possesses the superior skill-set, the IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO champ has been ducking the opportunity to fight Wilder, and even mocked the four-belt king over his recent choice of opponents.

Holyfield remains adamant that Wilder’s December bout with Tyson Fury should have been stopped in the 12th round and has publicly criticised referee Jack Reiss.

In the final round of the titanic clash at Staples Center, the ‘Bronze Bomber’ landed a jab-hook combination which put Fury down to the canvas where the ‘Gypsy King’ lay motionless for a few seconds before he miraculously sat up and beat the count.

Between Wilder, Fury, and Joshua — Holyfield ranks the Alabama native as No. 1 and believes his rare combination of size and speed make him a cut above the other two.

“With me personally, I think Deontay is the best fighter — regardless of the last fight with Fury. When you knock a guy down like that, and he’s down for four seconds — they usually stop it. They don’t wait for the guy to get up,” Holyfield told TMZ Sports, as per BoxingScene.

“I think Deontay is the best at heavyweight, but I think skill-wise I can say Anthony Joshua, but he won’t fight anyone. Until you fight somebody it don’t really make a difference if you have superior skills.

“Deontay stands a chance to beat any of them guys, because he’s got the knockout power and he’s quicker than a lot of guys think he is. He gets better in each and every fight.”

Joshua returns to the ring on June 1 when he faces undefeated American Jarrell Miller at the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York.

The 6-feet-6, 245 pound Joshua has been installed as an 8-1 favourite over the 6-feet-4, 315-pound Miller. DAZN will stream the 12-round fight where all four of Joshua’s belts will be on the line.

The much anticipated rematch between Wilder and Fury was set to be announced in the coming weeks, however, a spanner has now been thrown in the works — as Fury signed an exclusive £80 million, 5-fight contract with Top Rank and ESPN – while Wilder is aligned with Premier Boxing Champion, who have content deals with Showtime and Fox Sports.