If the WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (38-0, 37 KOs) has his way, he would be fighting WBO champion Joseph Parker (23-0, 18 KOs) in a summer unification showdown.

Right now both fighters have mandatory defenses in front of them, but they could be allowed to bypass those fights if a deal is reached for a unification.

Parker has a mandatory due to Hughie Fury. They were set to fight last weekend, but Fury withdrew with a back injury and Parker instead won a decision over a late replacement. Wilder was ordered by the WBC to have a rematch with Bermane Stiverne - who Wilder easily beat for the title back in January 2015.

Wilder, who last saw action in February when he knocked out Gerald Washington, wants to fight as soon as possible with Parker.

“I want that fight as soon as possible. In July,” Wilder said to the Tuscaloosa News. “I’m looking to come back in July so hopefully we can get a date set in July to get this unification started. It’s almost like a tournament a little bit. It makes it interesting for the fans.

“That’s the next step. I hope my team and (Parker’s) team can come together and we can agree on some terms and lets get this unification going already.”

According to Wilder's co-manager, the negotiations with Parker's team is ongoing and they hope to reach an agreement for a date in July or August.

“I think everybody wants unification,” said Jay Deas, Wilder’s co-manager and trainer. “It’s always a thing where unification trumps a mandatory. We’re aiming for Joseph Parker. We would love to fight Joseph Parker in July or August. We’ll go wherever we have to go. I think Joseph Parker wants the same thing.

“I think negotiations are ongoing, and I think everybody involved wants it to happen. It’s really a matter of finding the right network and finding the right venue and finding the right date and making sure all that matches up. Because TV has a schedule, of course arenas are filled up with every conceivable sport and musical act, so it’s not easy to find a date, especially a Saturday. That has to fit and it has to be within the right time frame because it’s no good if we find out that Vegas has an opening eight months from now. That’s no good. We have to find the right combination of those things.”