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When WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder attends Saturday's bout in Northern Ireland as a ringside commentator for former champion Tyson Fury's return against Francesco Pianeta, the post-fight theatrics have already been mapped out. 

Should Fury (26-0, 19 KOs) be victorious in his second comeback fight in the two months since he returned from a nearly three-year hiatus, Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs) told The Associated Press on Thursday he plans to enter the ring and officially issue a challenge. 

"Why not?" Wilder said. "You got two heavyweights in the same room from the same division. You got the champion, then you got the other champion. It's only right."

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The proposed November fight, which Showtime Sports president Stephen Espinoza told the AP is "virtually done" and merely lacks a concrete date and location, would prove to be a perfect consolation prize after the very public negotiation between Wilder and unified champion Anthony Joshua (21-0, 20 KOs) were frustratingly shelved until 2019. 

Even though the 28-year-old Joshua will bring his IBF, WBA and WBO titles instead into a Sept. 22 mandatory defense against Alexander Povetkin, a Fury bout remains nearly as prestigious and lucrative for Wilder considering the lineal championship at stake. The 30-year-old Fury, who upset Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, vacated his trio of world titles one year later amid substance abuse and mental-health issues and has never been beaten.   

Showtime will stream Fury-Planeta from Windsor Park in Belfast, along with the main event of Carl Frampton's homecoming featherweight bout against Luke Jackson, at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday on its Facebook and YouTube pages. 

Fury has spent the majority of fight week calling Wilder a "bum" and reassuring media members that he isn't looking past Planeta (35-4-1, 21 KOs). 

"If I come through this then Wilder has the chance to fight me for the lineal championship," Fury said during Thursday's final news conference. "Let's face it, he's not really fought anybody and he's had 40 fights.

"I study my heavyweights and I know he's fought some good men. [Pianeta] is a big strong fella and he knows that if he wins he will fight Wilder instead of me. He's going to try to knock me out. Hopefully he won't be successful and we'll put on a show."

Should Wilder-Fury get signed, Showtime would handle the pay-per-view with Espinoza hoping for Nov. 17 in either Las Vegas or New York. 

"Wilder vs. Fury is a really intriguing fight both because of the styles in the ring and the personalities outside the ring," Espinoza told AP. "Deontay and Tyson are two of the most likable and most entertaining characters in boxing. But all the entertainment aside, it is a high-level heavyweight fight between two of the top guys in the division and two huge athletes at 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-7, the two tallest and biggest guys in the sport today."

With Joshua leaving Showtime in order to join his promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport's new venture with the streaming app DAZN (which will air Joshua-Povetkin for their U.S. launch) it's uncertain whether the winner of a Wilder-Fury bout would necessarily face Joshua next for a shot at the undisputed championship. 

Either way, the 32-year-old Wilder reiterated to "PBC Jabs" on Thursday that his intentions for flying to Europe this weekend are sincere. He wants Fury and wants him next.

"I can tell you that the rumors are true," Wilder said. "Me and Tyson Fury definitely will be fighting. It will definitely seal the deal if he can get a win come Saturday night. Then it will definitely be even more realistic that the fight is going to happen. I have no doubt in my mind that he is going to do what he needs to do and get the job done and get this fight out of the way so we can get in camp and get ready to train for the battle of the real kings of the heavyweight division."