Promoter Eddie Hearn says he would have ‘no problem’ if Dillian Whyte got a world title shot before Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury agree to fight.
Joshua and Fury have agreed basic terms for a highly anticipated 2021 fight. But Whyte is now using lawyers to push for his right to use his status as mandatory challenger for the WBC title.
“If we have to wait until July or August for a Joshua-Fury fight and Whyte fights Fury in February or March, we have no problem,” said Hearn.
Fury, holder of the WBC belt, is next expected to face Deontay Wilder for a third time because Wilder had a rematch clause when he lost his title to the Briton in February. But Whyte has been in position as mandatory challenger for around three years and was told his shot would come before February 2021.
“We have written to the WBC along with his lawyers,” Hearn told the 5 Live Boxing podcast. “If Wilder is not ready to fight Fury, Whyte must get that shot. If Wilder does fight Fury, Whyte is due to get that shot at the winner before the end of February. You also have the whole world asking me to make Fury v Joshua. So I can’t win either way.”
Whyte is due to face Russia’s Alexander Povetkin on 22 August in what is expected to be the first pay-per-view fight night to be staged behind closed doors in the UK. It represents another risk for the 32-year-old, who was praised for taking on challenging bouts while he waited for a shot at then champion Wilder.
“People are getting WBC title shots who haven’t done half of what I’ve done,” Whyte told the podcast. “It is shameful and whichever way you look at it, it’s disgraceful. It is absurd. If I’d have waited for Wilder I’d have waited 1,000 days and wouldn’t have earned anything. Unfortunately I was put in a position to keep risking my mandatory status and giving people chances.”
Whyte recently had a lengthy social media exchange with Fury in which the former sparring partners traded insults over the prospect of one day sharing the ring competitively.
“Fury is a good fighter, a good mover,” Whyte added. “The problem with people who fight Fury is they head hunt too much. I’m going to target the body. He is saying he will annihilate me. Trust me, I have shared a ring with him before and there wasn’t any annihilating. I can say that for sure.”
