DEONTAY WILDER said Dillian Whyte is ‘obsessed’ with him as he vowed to face the Brit if his Tyson Fury trilogy is cancelled.
Wilder was dethroned of the WBC belt by Fury in February but was already signed to an immediate rematch.
But as the third fight of the series was backdated amid the coronavirus pandemic, the stipulation expired.
Wilder has now initiated a mediation to desperately salvage his crack at redemption.
But if his case is thrown out, there is only one man he wants to fight as an alternative.
Wilder told the Last Stand Podcast: “Dillian Whyte, I want Dillian Whyte and I want Dillian Whyte. The dude is obsessed with me, man.
“It feels like he acting like we went together and then we had a bad break up which we can’t get over.
“Maybe I have some good p**** or something, I don’t know? No homo.
“He always tried to come out with lies and all this. I’m the man that he wants to be, I’m the man that a lot of these fighters want to be.”
Wilder, 35, and Whyte, 32, have a long history dating back to 2017.
During that time, Whyte was the WBC’s No1 ranked challenger but was never given a title shot.
As he waited, and Fury instead successfully challenged for the belt, he was eventually made mandatory.
In the end, Whyte’s guaranteed shot at the belt went up in smoke as he was knocked out by Alexander Povetkin.
He is set to rematch the 41-year-old Russian next year, after their initial date this weekend was axed after Povetkin tested positive for Covid-19.
Wilder also has a nervy wait as a decision on his trilogy with Fury is expected to be delivered this week.
If he is unsuccessful, Andy Ruiz Jr, Oleksandr Usyk, Joseph Parker and Robert Helenius are among the names he would want to fight instead.
Wilder explained: “Ruiz will be one on the list, as far as hype – Helenius could be one of them – he could come back and get the hype.
“You got Parker, you’ve got Usyk and I would love to fight him. He called me out at one point in time.
“There’s a lot of guys on the list and when that phone rings, just accept that opportunity.
“Ain’t nothing nobody can say now. ‘Oh, I don’t want to fight him now?’
“No; you could have fought me, let’s keep that clear. Let’s make it clear, Wilder don’t run from nobody and never has. Never will.
“But we will see what happens man, it’s going to be exciting whatever happens.
“I’m an exciting fighter and I am must-see TV regardless and it all will reveal itself.”
