Deontay Wilder may have knocked Artur Szpilka out but Alexander Povetkin's promoter was unimpressed by the American's performance.
The 36-year-old Povetkin (30-1-KO22) was ringside in New York as he is mandatory challenger for Wilder's WBC world heavyweight crown.
Wilder extended his record to 36-0-KO35 with an emphatic ninth-round finish of the valiant Szpilka, who had caused the champion problems up to that point with some clever movement - leaving Povetkin's promoter Andrei Ryabinski hopeful.
In an interview reported on boxingscene.com, Ryabinski said: "In this contest, Wilder did not show anything interesting. At the beginning of the fight, Szpilka was doing quite well. Then he began to behave in a nonsensical manner and was punished for it.
"He showed off, had his left hand really low - and these are things you cannot do. This is not a situation where you show off. This is not a show. He needed to hold his hands up high."
Wilder has already expressed his reluctance to travel to Russia for the potential clash with Povetkin.
The 30-year-old said: "It's time to welcome him [Povetkin] to the United States of America. I don't think he's fought here in America yet. And we all know to have that big name, you need to have American fans on your side.
"I'm looking forward to getting him out of his zone and to come to America. It's too cold in Russia."
Wilder won the title by outpointing Bermane Stiverne a year ago - the only time he has been taken the distance in his professional career.