It is not surprising Tyson Fury should be feeling a little aggrieved right now, after watching a man he beat so routinely last year talk himself into a multi-million pound sell-out showdown with David Haye.
But Fury was fooling no one this week when he waded in with his opinion on this Saturday night's British heavyweight title fight between David Price and Sam Sexton in Liverpool, describing Price as "a bum".
Fury, who relinquished the title rather than face Price, instead preferring to be sucked into kamikaze wars by journeymen foreign fighters live on on Channel Five, is in danger of being left out in the cold.
The beleaguered British boxing public could hardly stomach another war of heavyweight words, and in that respect Price increasingly looks like the man in whom they can invest both their future hopes and their eardrums.
Price, an intelligent and articulate fighter, as well as an Olympic bronze medallist in Beijing four years ago, believes the coveted Lonsdale Belt is still something worth fighting for and will bring him both the respect and the springboard he needs.
"My Commonwealth Games gold medal and my Olympic bronze were both proud achievements, but the Lonsdale Belt is something I have had my eye on since I turned professional," said Price.
"So many great fighters have held that belt. If I win it it will be the start of something big for me, and it will be the biggest achievement of my career. Sam Sexton will be the most difficult opponent I've faced."
Price is much more tight-lipped about his future potential than his domestic heavyweight rivals, who routinely call out the likes of the Klitschkos and either freeze on the big occasion or, in Fury's case, begin to backtrack completely.
Price is not yet ready to face either of the Ukrainian brothers but if he continues to pick up scalps and belts he is likely to leapfrog into the frame within the next 12 to 18 months - perhaps when one or both of the brothers are past their peak.
Price has stepped up his level significantly in his recent fights. He swatted fellow domestic prospect Tom Dallas, who was unbeaten in his 15 professional fights, in round two of their fight in June.
Then he faced seasoned testing post John McDermott, who was robbed against Fury in their first fight in 2009 before going nine rounds of a rematch, and took less than two minutes to claim the victory.
Assuming Price does the business against Sexton, a solid professional who went nine with Chisora in 2010 and also holds a win over Martin Rogan, a fight against Fury would be a ridiculously obvious next step - if Fury is interested.
He may have got the relatively high-profile Channel Five ticket but Fury's displays since beating Chisora have proved next to nothing, floored by journeyman Neven Pajkic and hardly pushed by the fast-fading Rogan in April.
If Fury's slur is intended to try to spark the same kind of verbal jostling which ultimately led to the lucrative Haye-Chisora controversy, he will be disappointed, but he will only have himself to blame.
On Saturday night, Price seeks to prove he does not need seedy gimmicks to establish his own right to move on to bigger things.
According to his promoter Frank Maloney, he is a welcome antidote to the current depressing heavyweight scene.
"Thankfully David and Sam are both gentlemen who will give the fans a fight to remember," said Maloney.
"There has been no trash talking, and whoever wins will be proud to call themselves British and Commonwealth champion."
