IBF orders Dillian Whyte vs. Kubrat Pulev for final eliminator

By Boxing News - 04/02/2018 - Comments

Image: IBF orders Dillian Whyte vs. Kubrat Pulev for final eliminator

By Jim Dower: The International Boxing Federation has reportedly ordered Dillian Whyte (23-1, 17 KOs) and Kubrat Pulev (25-1, 13 KOs) to face each other in a final eliminator with the winner becoming the mandatory challenger to IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.

The IBF previously ordered Pulev to face Dominic Breazeale last month for a final eliminator, but Breazeale chose not to take the fight. It’s possible that #2 WBC Breazeale will look to face WBC heavyweight champion Deontay ‘Bronze Bomber’ Wilder next. There are rumors that Wilder will be defending against Breazeale in his next fight if he can’t get a unification match against IBF/WBA/WBO champion Joshua (21-0, 20 KOs).

If Whyte takes the fight with Pulev, he could potentially get a fight with Joshua later this year if he wins to become the IBF mandatory. If Whyte wants to become a mandatory challenger for Joshua, then a fight with Pulev would be the quickest path to accomplish that goal. The WBC has Whyte ranked #1 with their organization, but they haven’t made him the mandatory challenger to Wilder, and they still haven’t ordered a final eliminator.

Whyte might as well take the fight with Pulev if he wants the mandatory spot to give him a bigger payday against Joshua. It’s the quickest way to a title shot for Whyte, because Wilder is not going to give him a title shot anytime soon.

Whyte, 29, might not take the fight with Pulev, as he’s got a number of options available to him. Moreover, Whyte is with Matchroom Boxing, the same promoters that promote Joshua, and he doesn’t need to fight in an eliminator to become his mandatory challenger for him to get a title shot. Whyte wants to challenge Wilder for his strap, but he’s already been told he’s going to need to wait a long time before he eventually gets that title shot. Wilder won’ defend his title against Whyte until the World Boxing Council orders the fight and that might not happen until 2019 or 2020.

Whyte is targeting WBA mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin for his next fight in June. Whyte called out Povetkin last Saturday night following the Russian fighter’s 5th round knockout win over David Price. Whyte’s promoter Eddie Hearn is interested in matching him against Povetkin in June in the UK.

Pulev, 36, has a difficult style of fighting that would present problems for Whyte if the fight took place. Pulev lost to former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko by a 5th round knockout in November 2014, but he’s won his last five since then. Pulev just narrowly missed out on a title shot against IBF champion Joshua last October. Pulev suffered a shoulder injury training and had to pull out of the fight.

Whyte defeated former WBA heavyweight champion Lucas ‘Big Daddy’ Browne by a 6th round knockout last month on March 24 at the O2 Arena in London, England. That was Whyte’s most impressive performance for quite some time. It’s hard to know if Whyte is getting better of his opponents getting worse.