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By Mark Eisner: Eddie Hearn is looking to bring Dillian Whyte back on the undercard of Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr. on December 7th in Saudi Arabia. Hearn is hoping to load up the undercard with as much talent as possible. Having Whyte on the card would make it interesting. Hearn would need to find a quality opponent for him though. Eddie is talking about possibly having David Price on the card. He would be an excellent option for Whyte.

In addition to having Whyte on the card, Hearn plans on matching former WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin against Michael Hunter, and super featherweight Scott Quigg vs. Jono Carroll.

Dillian Whyte free to fight says Hearn

Whyte (26-1, 18 KOs) is free to fight despite his B-sample still not having been tested from his previous test. This was before his last fight against Oscar Rivas last July. Whyte won the fight by a 12 round unanimous decision in a WBC title eliminator. UKAD cleared Whyte to fight Rivas. It’s up to Whyte whether he wants to compete on the Joshua-Ruiz card.

It’s a great opportunity for Whyte to get some viability, and stay active while he waits for his B-sample to be read by UKAD. Hearn is confident that Whyte will be cleared, and will be able to challenge for the WBC title in the first half of 2020. In the best possible world, Whyte wins his fight in December, and then takes on the winner of the Wilder vs. Tyson Fury next May.

“I met him on the Prograis thing, and I said, ‘How you getting on?’ and he said, ‘Our lawyers are pushing UKAD to get a date for whatever it’s going to be,’ and hopefully come out and give you all the info to clear his name. He’d like to. I’d like him to. Saudi Arabia,” said Hearn when asked when he wants Whyte to fight.

“I’d like him to fight this year, you know? But obviously, mentally, it’s a tough time for him. And I do feel like I’ve got to push for that, because he’s allowed to fight. But I think that needs to be out of his head when he fights. I don’t think he should be going into a fight. The last one was hard enough for him,” said Hearn.

The World Boxing Council has given Whyte a provisional suspension for his interim WBC title until UKAD reports of the findings for his B-sample. Hearn doesn’t like the idea of Whyte being suspended by the WBC when he was cleared by UKAD for him to fight Rivas. It’s believed by some that UKAD will make an announcement about Whyte’s findings in October.

Hearn talks Quigg vs. Carroll & Povetkin vs. Hunter for December 7

“I like Scott Quigg against Jono Carroll,” said Hearn about another fight he’d like for the Joshua vs. Ruiz 2 undercard on December 7th. “Povetkin-Hunter is one that might go there. Price-Hunter is another one I quite like. [Jessie] Vargas against Liam Smith.”