By Scott Gilfoid: Dillian Whyte (22-1, 16 KOs) has officially been made the #1 ranked contender in the World Boxing Council’s heavyweight rankings. It’s a move that was expected due to Whyte’s recent win over fringe contender Robert Helenius last month on October 28 in Cardiff, Wales.
Whyte’s promoter Eddie Hearn still wants to get him a title shot against WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. It can happen, but Hearn will need to do what he’s been reluctant to do thus far and that’s to tie Wilder-Whyte fight in with a unification match for Deontay against Anthony Joshua. The money that Hearn has offered Wilder hasn’t been to his liking.
The way that Whyte has looked in his last 5 fights, I see him more as a bottom 15 guy than a No.1 contender. He’s more like Bermane Stiverne level in terms of talent. It’s disappointing how the WBC keeps ranking poor heavyweights at No.1.
Hearn needs to sweeten the pot by throwing in an extra $3 million to the existing $4 million to round it out to $7 million. It’s doable if Whyte is on board with getting a smaller payday for the fight. If Whyte believes in himself, then he should go for the deal, because if he wins, then he’s the new WBC heavyweight champion. Whyte can use the WBC title as leverage to get a bigger cash deal against Joshua.
Whyte, 29, has previously said that by receiving a #1 ranking with the WBC, it will get him a title shot against WBC heavyweight Deontay “Bronze Bomber” Wilder. That’s the fight that Whyte BADLY wants. However, the WBC still hasn’t made Whyte the mandatory challenger yet to Wilder’s title.
Even if/when the WBC does make Whyte the mandatory, he still won’t be able to force a fight against Wilder until late 2018, possibly 2019. Wilder will have already faced IBF/WBA heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua by that point in time. Wilder’s management are in negotiations with Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn for a unification fight. Part of the deal is a potential for 2 fights between the champions. As such, Whyte will almost surely ne sitting around waiting for a title shot until 2019 at the earliest, and could stretch out further if there are more appealing fights for the winner of the Joshua vs. Wilder fight.
Whyte doesn’t bring much to the table unfortunately. His performance against Helenius was plain awful, and the crowd at the Principality Stadium in Carfiff that witnessed the dull fight was quiet the entire time due the dullness of the fight.
Here are the WBC’s NEW top 15 rankings:
1. Dillian Whyte
2. Dominic Breazeale
3. Luis Ortiz
4. Andy Ruiz
5. Mariusz Wach
6. Tony Bellew
7. Johann Duhaupas
8. Charles Martin
9. Oscar Rivas
10. Agit Kabayel
11. Carlos Takam
12. Lucas Browne
13. Dereck Chisora
14. Adam Kownacki
15. Bermane Stiverne
You can argue strongly that Whyte doesn’t deserve to be ranked anywhere close to No.1 with the WBC, given how poor he looked against Helenius. Charles Martin, Bermane Siverne, Mariusz Wach and Dereck Chisora shouldn’t be ranked in the top 15 based off their recent performances. That’s the way I see it. Tony Bellew doesn’t belong in the top 15 in my opinion, as he’s only fought once at heavyweight, and that was against a badly injured David Haye. The only reason Bellew beat Haye is because he ruptured an Achilles tendon. The fight should have been stopped as soon as the injury occurred. It’s surprising that they allowed the fight to continue.