Deontay Wilder asks fight fans to sit back and enjoy the ride

It’s not about the matchup as much as it’s about the marketing.

Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder is taking some heat for what appears to be a lopsided matchup in his home state of Alabama on Saturday night against Frenchman Johann Duhaupus.

Yet, Wilder (34-0, 33 knockouts) is making that World Boxing Council title defense on NBC (5:30 p.m. PDT), marking the first time a heavyweight title fight has been broadcast by a major network since the 1985 Larry Holmes-Carl “The Truth” Williams bout.

And Wilder has been further touted in a documentary, “American Heavy,” that began airing on NBC Sports Network on Monday and continues with reruns Thursday and Friday.

The 29-year-old knows there are calls for him to fight someone better than the 34-year-old Duhaupus (32-2, 20 knockouts), who’s coming off a majority decision victory over former title challenger Manuel Charr and has never been knocked down.

Ad nauseum, Wilder is asked when he’s going to fight three-belt heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.

Wilder says he’d like to get that fight later in 2016 after taking his mandatory challenge against Russian Alexander Povetkin.

Until then, he says the Duhaupus bout gives him “hype, size, a tough opponent, a guy who’s never been knocked out before, a guy coming off the best win of his career, a guy trying to become the first Frenchman to win the belt.”

“People as a whole, we don’t have patience. We want it right now. But you’ve got to have patience. You can’t be all whining and nagging.”

Wilder -- managed by Al Haymon, the creator of the Premier Boxing Champions series that has time-buy arrangements to place fights on NBC, CBS, ABC and ESPN -- insists there’s a vision to his career path.

He said Duhaupus’ height (6-foot-5) and resilience, especially in a title fight, provide needed training on the road to Klitschko.

“My vision is to become the undisputed heavyweight champion, the most popular boxer of my era,” the 6-7 Wilder said. “My goal is beyond where I sit here. It takes time, doing a lot of things and I’m ready for the ride, man.

“I don’t care what people say if they don’t understand boxing. Everybody can be an expert, but someone who’s never put on the gloves and is speaking their mind.… I don’t want to hear it. I’m trying to revive the heavyweight division.”

Wilder expressed confidence that Haymon will guide him there responsibly.

Even if a similar road was deemed too cautious for most fans’ liking, Haymon directed Leo Santa Cruz to his anticipated showdown against Abner Mares last month, and it was announced this month that softly handled Peter Quillin will fight for Daniel Jacobs’ middleweight belt on Dec. 5.

Haymon’s strategy appears to be one where he maximizes pay days and viewership along the way to the most anticipated bouts.

Wilder said that’s what he sees – “You hit the nail on the head,” he said – and noted his division in particular isn’t very crowded with talent.

“We take a big fight, then small,” he said after wresting the WBC belt from Bermane Stiverne in January. “If I fought all five of the top guys and got rid of all of them, who is there left?

“Don’t think just because you haven’t heard of an opponent, he’s not good. This is for the heavyweight title. It’ll mean more to this guy than any other fight. It’s going to bring the best out of him.

“We’re doing this for a reason. Anyway, my mandatory [Povetkin] will be easier than Stiverne. He can’t fight tall fighters. So people just have to sit back and say, ‘We’re going to follow Deontay Wilder no matter what he does. We’re going to follow his plan, because it’s a great plan.’”