"His father steps in the way" - Deontay Wilder warns Andy Ruiz about being shelved if their potential matchup does not come to fruition

Former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder recently weighed in on a potential fight against fellow former world champion Andy Ruiz. The 'The Bronze Bomber' is highly expected to face 'Destroyer' in a WBC final eliminator to determine the next challenger for Tyson Fury’s world title.

However, similar to many other talks in the sport, financial concerns are getting in the way. While Wilder's team claimed to have sent Ruiz an immensely lucrative offer, Ruiz's father accused Wilder of lowballing his son.

In a recent interview with 'The Schmo,' Deontay Wilder was asked about the status of talks for a potential fight against Andy Ruiz, to which the Alabama native replied:

"Andy, he got a lot of stuff going on. I think one of the main things is, his father steps in the way of a lot of things. They talk about money, and this and that, I haven't talked nothing about any money. I haven't talked about any percentages."

Deontay Wilder continued to outline a possible consequence for Andy Ruiz if he didn't sign the contract soon, saying:

"I know one thing, if things don't go like they're supposed to and this fight don't get done, somebody is going to be on the shelf for a long time. And I know it isn't going to be me. "

Catch Wilder's comments below (3:15):

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Andy Ruiz's father calls Deontay Wilder out for lying about sending over a "lucrative" fight offer

Deontay Wilder is one of the most prominent heavyweight boxers in the world today and is known for packing an incredible amount of power in his punches. The former WBC heavyweight champion has recently been involved in some back-and-forth negotiations with fellow heavyweight pugilist Andy Ruiz but their matchup is far from confirmed.

As negotiations progressed, both men expressed their interest in facing each other in the boxing ring in late August or early September. However, talks hit a snag when Ruiz's father claimed the fight offer they received grossly undervalued his son and rubbished any claims of the offer being lucrative in any way.

In an interview with Izquierdazo, as reported by Boxing Social, Ruiz Sr. called out Deontay Wilder for being dishonest about the contract and lowballing Andy Ruiz. He said:

"Wilder is a liar... They want Andy to accept a ridiculous amount, but Andy is not just any boxer, Andy was a world champion... Wilder wants to offer 30%. It’s not good money... Andy and Wilder are going to fill the stadium, they are going to sell PPVs like crazy because everyone wants to see that fight." (h/t boxing-social.com)