Deontay Wilder could face either Anthony Joshua, Andy Ruiz Jr or Oleksandr Usyk next if he beats Robert Helenius, according to his manager.
The Bronze Bomber has been out of action since last November after being knocked out by Tyson Fury in the eleventh round of their trilogy fight in Las Vegas.
Wilder, 36, returns to the ring next month at Barclays Center in New York on October 15.
It comes after AJ's promoter Eddie Hearn recently claimed that he made him a very generous offer prior to his rematch defeat to Oleksandr Usyk.
Deontay Wilder's manager confirms he rejected Eddie Hearn's offer to fight Anthony Joshua
But the former heavyweight world champion's manager Shelly Finkel has now given his side of the story - and it makes perfect sense.
Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: “It’s come out a few times by Eddie Hearn that I avoided him.
“We have a fight coming up with Robert Helenius. Eddie emailed me, ‘Can we talk? I have some big [offer] for Deontay.’
Deontay Wilder's next opponents include Anthony Joshua, Andy Ruiz Jr and Oleksandr Usyk
“Right now we have the Helenius fight, that’s all we need to concentrate on. Because if something went wrong there, nothing else would be. And if it goes right, it’ll all get worked out.
“And I felt if I got on a call with Eddie, the next thing you would be on the call to me, ‘Oh, did you and Eddie talk?’
“So I said to Deontay and Al Haymon, ‘What do you think?’ And they said, ‘Let’s just get this fight out of the way.’
“And sure enough, [Eddie Hearn says], ‘Shelly didn’t even talk to me.’"
Deontay Wilder will 'hopefully' fight Anthony Joshua if the timing is right
Deontay Wilder takes on Robert Helenius at Barclays Center in New York on October 15
Finkel added: “I think he also has this feeling that I dislike Eddie.
“No. I don’t always agree with him, we’re on opposite sides, he has a fighter who will hopefully be an opponent for one of my guys, in this case Deontay, and it’s nothing of the sort.
“Barry Hearn and I, we go back 30/40 years and it’s always been very cordial.
“And the Eddie thing, look, he’s been around not as long as he thinks he has, but he’s done some really exciting, good things, so I give him credit for that.
“And when it comes time to make a deal, it’ll get done, or not."
Deontay Wilder could face either Andy Ruiz Jr or Oleksandr Usyk next instead
Of course, Joshua isn't the only one angling for a fight with Wilder.
Usyk is also seemingly interested in competing against him - but he could also face potential disappointment as it appears that there is another option out there as well.
Finkel continued: “It got done with Wladimir Klitschko and now he seems to be on a path to fight Tyson Fury, I wish him well.
“The other day we got a message that Usyk will fight us if Joshua goes the route of Fury, yeah, we’re open to that, we’re not opposed to that at all.
“And if not, there’s Andy Ruiz Jr, there’s several other options.
“In my mind, until the Fury [vs Joshua] thing came, I was thinking that after the fight with Helenius we would be talking, Eddie and I, but things happen.”