Three kings of different credence and conviction, it seemed destined to be an era of heavyweight royalty. The Lazarus-like Tyson Fury held the lineage, Anthony Joshua the treasure trove and Deontay Wilder, the transatlantic ticket. A trifecta of undefeated braggadocios formed into another of boxing’s Hollywood scripts.

But, yet again, as the road to riches comes in off the horizon, the rifts come clearer into focus. The ‘hurt business’ ready to tear itself apart at the seams over fractional percentages and futile greed.

And so just as Fury and Wilder looked set to rematch at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, a fortnight before Joshua’s float docked down the road in Manhattan for a Stateside debut against Jarrell Miller, the stumbling blocks have materialised once more.

After professing to only box the best and ignore the much-maligned “dossers”, Fury will now fight in a tune-up in May against exactly such an opponent. His own promoter, Frank Warren, who orchestrated the reputed £80m contract with ESPN, is now blaming that same deal for delaying the rematch with Wilder. Cliques unable to communicate in harmony within their own overcrowded camps, let alone the mania beyond.

When it comes to making heavyweight fights of this magnitude, there are so many clawing at the pot that negotiating any deal has become a task of total acrimony and tedium.

February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world Show all 16 1 /16 February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world Who is the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world? The ranking of The Independent's 10 best male boxers on the planet. Take a look through to see who comes out on top. Getty Images February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world On the rise: Anthony Joshua Joshua recaptured his world heavyweight titles in dominant fashion, but in a new manner for the Briton: boxing beautifully off the back foot. He is now back in the mix, even if he is just behind Wilder and Fury, to be considered the best heavyweight in the world. All three are just on the outside of our list though until they fight each other AP February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world On the rise: Deontay Wilder Nobody can deny he has a claim as the most powerful puncher pound-for-pound, but despite wiping out Luis Ortiz, the Bronze Bomber needs to beat Tyson Fury clearly to justify a place inside the top 10 here EPA February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world In the mix: Tyson Fury Like Joshua and Wilder before, with a legitimate case to be the No 1 heavyweight in the world, Fury is just on the outside of our top 10 - if he manages to comprehensively beat Wilder - staying away from that big right hand for the full 12 rounds - he will be the first of the trio to leap back inside the top 10 Getty Images February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world On the rise: Josh Taylor (16-0) Josh Taylor's win over Regis Prograis to win the WBSS at 140 pounds was a massive statement - he'll need to become the undisputed light welterweight champion by beating Jose Ramirez to make his place inside the top 10 indisputable Getty Images February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world On the rise: Miguel Berchelt (37-1) Miguel Berchelt smashed Jose Sosa to pieces inside four rounds to defend his WBC super featherweight title - now 37-1 and undefeated since 2014 with 16 consecutive wins and six straight defences AFP via Getty Images February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world 10. Juan Francisco Estrada (39-3-0) The two-weight world champion grabbed the lineal super flyweight title against Sor Rungvisai to snatch his pound-for-pound status and the WBC gold. Getty Images February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world 9. Mikey Garcia (39-1-0) Despite coming up short against Errol Spence in their welterweight bout, Garcia is still a modern great as a four-weight world champion. Getty Images February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world 8. Gennady Golovkin (39-1-1) Despite suffering the first loss of his career against Canelo Alvarez, Golovkin's stellar career keeps him in our rankings. The boxing legend is now a two-time world champion. Getty Images February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world 7. Manny Pacquiao (62-7-2) The Filipino looked sensational to outpoint Keith Thurman, flooring the American and rolling back the years at 40 years old to confirm himself as the No 3 welterweight in the world at worst. Considering the illustrious names on his resume, a place inside the top 10 pound-for-pound list and a world class win this year confirms his place here. AP February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world 6. Errol Spence (26-0-0) Spence beat Shawn Porter to unify the welterweight division as he goes in search of more belts. Danny Garcia looks set to be next. Getty Images February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world 5. Oleksandr Usyk (17-0-0) The undisputed, undefeated, unified cruiserweight world champion has successfully moved up in weight, beating Chazz Witherspoon on his heavyweight debut. Getty Images February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world 4. Naoya Inoue (19-0-0) The man nicknamed the 'monster' beat Nonito Donaire to win the World Boxing Super Series and move to 19-0 after a hard fought battle. Getty Images February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world 3. Terence Crawford (35-0-0) Another three-weight world champion, Crawford enters our top three and reaffirmed his place as one of the sport's greats after a knockout win against Amir Khan. Getty Images February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world 2. Canelo Alvarez (53-1-2) One loss and a whole heap of controversy but Canelo's record is one to be celebrated, a now four-weight world champion and still not even 30 years of age. The biggest star in the sport and an impressive KO win of Sergey Kovalev cements his standing, arguably has a claim to the throne, but he just misses out here. USA TODAY Sports February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world 1. Vasyl Lomachenko (14-1-0) There can only be one. The king of the amateur game has stepped up to become the king of the professionals. Just 15 fights into his career and despite one career defeat, the current unified lightweight world champion sets records for days. Loma won a world title in his third fight, became a two-weight champion in his seventh, and a three-weight champion in his twelfth fight. The king. Less magic against a brave Luke Campbell, but more brutality, slashing body shots and exquisite balance and movement. Who's next? Commey, Lopez, Davis? Getty Images

Fury now has two promoters and will be exclusively broadcast on ESPN in the States and BT Sport in the UK. Wilder has two managers, an advisor, no promoter, and long-held allegiances to bitter ESPN rival, Showtime. And Joshua rearguards with a promoter, management team, first-option deals with DAZN and Sky Sports and a PR vessel currently chugging its way across the Atlantic.

There are so many divisive hands scrapping over each ounce of change that the division has become a portrait of comic affray. We have Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, and members of Wilder’s team publicly bickering over social media in a catty pantomime of contracts. Even now, they continue to wrangle over a soap opera $50m offer – which may or may not have existed – put forward almost a year ago.

This is the pace at which discordant negotiations are being played out and, with that, there’s the very real danger that by the time the trio do eventually collide Wilder’s manic athleticism may have declined, Joshua’s heavyset stiffness laboured a little and Fury’s ballet flats more resemblant of cowboy boots.

Wilder, Whyte and Fury have all accused Joshua of pitching lowball offers (PA)

Nor, though, is it entirely the fault of conniving suits. While the boxers themselves cannot be blamed for looking to maximise their earning potential in a sport where vitality is in such short supply, their own smokescreen of insults and propaganda has run a cinder.

When Fury signed the landmark ESPN deal, fracturing the market and scuppering the Wilder rematch, he claimed: “I will fight anyone in world boxing, don’t use boxing politics as an excuse not to challenge me the lineal heavyweight champ!” The equivalent of barricading oneself in a room and then beckoning anyone to enter from behind the blank walls.

During Joshua’s hysteria rodeo over the past fortnight, to build a bout with self-proclaimed enemy of cheeseburgers and all things Trans fat, ‘Big Baby’ Miller, the WBA, WBO & IBF champion persistently cited Floyd Mayweather as the man who has “shown everyone how to do it”.

By that, Joshua is referencing taking power and percentages into his own hands as Mayweather did when he paid $750,000 to buy out his own promotional contract. But what that also entailed was holding out on a pinnacle fight until the very last spits of hype and fantasy for the sake of revenue in Mayweather-Pacquiao

Fury can now only fight on ESPN in the US (Getty)

If the same fate befalls the heavyweight division, and we do not see Joshua take on Fury or Wilder until its last and most lucrative ember, it will be a tragedy of the sport. One which will always leave this generation of heavyweights with questions over their place in the pantheon.

Whether it’s Joshua sacrificing small percentages for the sake of legacy or Wilder walking away from his alliance with Showtime, both fighters have the power to force a meeting with one another, or with Fury.