Two days after his 26th birthday, the previously little-known figure of Ben Davison could lead Tyson Fury to one of the greatest sporting comebacks of all time.
It was Davison, then best known for working with Billy Joe Saunders during his unconvincing victory over Russia's Artur Akavov in 2016, who succeeded in motivating Fury to lose 10 stones and return to the ring after more than two-and-a-half years of inactivity.
Davison recognises he will largely be blamed if Fury is defeated by Wilder but the fact he is fighting perhaps the world's most dangerous active boxer after 14 low-level rounds in three years, means that would be over-simplistic.
Despite this, the reality remains that Davison is yet to experience the pressure that comes on the very biggest stage.
Ricky Hatton and the great Freddie Roach have been recruited to join him in what will be Fury's decorated corner, and if he needed further encouragement ahead of Saturday's fight at Los Angeles' Staples Center, he received it with Wilder's tension when he again met Fury.
"Tyson's comeback fight was a big fight," said Davison. "Imagine if something had gone wrong in one of them, if that wasn't pressure? That would straightaway have been put on me.
"It's all the same, and I don't get too bothered by critics – I know I'd be the first to take the blame, I'm fully aware of that and I was aware of that when I took that job on. No risk, no reward – no pressure, no diamonds.
"I haven't got a point to prove – to who? It's an easy target to say 'I was young, Tyson made a mistake, he shouldn't have had him'. But nobody else managed to get Tyson motivated – he was in that state for two-and-a-half years.
"I'm very balanced – I don't get too carried away and let my emotions run too high or too low and that's been key to helping Tyson get back to where he is. If I couldn't do the job I wouldn't be head trainer.
"Deontay's probably the most dangerous fighter in boxing, but I'm very confident in Tyson's ability. It'll be a fantastic moment [when he wins] and I'm looking forward to it."
Fury's preparations took fighter and trainer from the altitude of Big Bear in California to Roach's renowned Wild Card gym in Los Angeles, where the American's experience and expertise have been used.
"I'm in charge, but it's good to bounce ideas off each other now and then," he said. "Sometimes he might say 'I like when Tyson does this' and I might think, 'Okay, yeah, I might get him to do that a little more often', or say to Freddie 'What do you think about this?'
"Freddie's a legend and won numerous world titles; Ricky's won world titles as a trainer as well as a fighter, so there's a fantastic wealth of experience in the corner. What better seconds could you get?"
Former world champion David Haye, meanwhile, says he is "leaning pretty heavily" towards Wilder beating Fury in their heavyweight showdown – predicting a stoppage victory for the American.
"This is the most excited I have been about a fight since Anthony Joshua versus Wladimir Klitschko in 2017, and I believe it's the most important one since that Wembley showdown," said Haye, a BetFair ambassador.
"I am expecting something on a similar scale as well in LA on Saturday, with two undefeated fighters going head-to-head – it's guaranteed fireworks.
"Tyson Fury is the outsider here, but he has a history of upsetting the applecart. I'm hearing all the same things now, in fact I'm saying them myself – that Fury doesn't have the firepower to deal with Deontay Wilder, but Tyson can find a way.
"But I am leaning pretty heavily towards Wilder, taking into account how the two of them have lived their lives over the past few years.
"My bet would be Wilder by stoppage. Fury has never faced an athlete like him before. The American reminds me of an NBA player in the way he can just keep going.
"Fury comes from a fighting family and we know he has plenty of heart. He got up off the floor against Steve Cunningham, and he will probably have to do it again here.
"Tyson will be aiming for a points win, but at no point will he be able to get excited even if plenty of rounds have passed. It only takes one Wilder punch to knock him out."
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