Interim WBC heavyweight champion Dillian Whyte has officially been named the mandatory challenger of current WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury – setting the stage for the latter’s next fight almost a month after his spectacular victory against Deontay Wilder via 11th-round TKO.
After the conclusion of his generation-defining trilogy versus Wilder in Las Vegas, Fury initially had his sights set on Ukrainian talent Oleksandr Usyk – who defeated Anthony Joshua a month prior to claim the WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight belts. Joshua, however, triggered a rematch clause with Usyk, which threw a spanner in the works. Incidentally, Wilder triggering his own rematch clause with Fury was one of several factors preventing the long-anticipated showdown between the Gypsy King himself and AJ.
“Fury has been mandated to fight me twice,” reveals Dillian Whyte.
“He asked for the WBC Diamond belt to fight me but ran away when they agreed. He just keeps making excuses.”
“Hopefully now he’s got no choice. What’s he going to do? Throw the belt in the bin and run away from more money than he got to fight Wilder?”
“Obviously he says he’s a fighting man and a man of his word, but we all know he talks a lot of shit, so let’s see.”
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Assuming both parties agree to terms within the next 30 days, the Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte fight will likely take place sometime around February and March of 2022. BBC reports potential venues being proposed at this moment are located in both Cardiff and Manchester. But unlike the 18-month lead-up to Fury’s third meeting with Wilder, this won’t be his sole event for the calendar year.
According to promoter Bob Arum, Tyson Fury plans to fight “at least three times” next year. Meaning a unification bout against Oleksander Usyk plus silencing Anthony Joshua once and for all may still be on the cards.
“That is what I would like to see and what he would like to see,” says Bob Arum. “Hopefully that is how it will roll out and Fury is ready to fight anybody.”
“I really believe that Fury is the pre-eminent heavyweight in the world and there is nobody out there that he would be reluctant to fight.”
So how does Dillian Whyte (28-2-0) rate his chances against the undefeated Tyson Fury (31-0-1)?
“Of course I’ll finish him.”
“Wilder is overrated. He can punch. He’s very athletic and rangy, and he’s got good speed, so when he closes the distance quick and he lands a punch, he’s heavy-handed. But he can’t box and he can’t fight. Everything he does is erratic and that’s why Fury was able to take him out,” explains Whyte.
“He knocked Fury down twice, heavy knockdowns… Fury came back and won rounds. Wilder is just a freak of nature, he has no technical ability. If I put Fury down, I’ll be attacking him: head and body, head and body.”
Side note: on this exact day two years ago, Anthony Joshua reclaimed his wild heavyweight titles with a decisive victory against Andy Ruiz Jr.
