By Charles Brun: World Boxing Council president Mauricio Sulaiman says that Dillian Whyte will be getting his title shot against the WBC heavyweight champion by February of next year. The coronavirus won’t delay him. Sulaiman thinks that boxing will be back before Whyte is due to challenge for the WBC title next February.
Speaking to @TheAthleticBOX, Sulaiman informed them that he believes Whyte (27-1, 18 KOs) won’t have his title shot delayed against whoever the WBC champion is beyond February. Tyson Fury is the current WBC heavyweight champion, but he has a rematch with former champion Deontay Wilder on October 3. The winner of that fight will be the one that Whyte is supposed to be facing by February.
The two things could mess-up Whyte’s plans for a title shot next February:
- WBC allowing the Fury vs. Wilder 3 winner to face IBF/WBA/WBO champion Anthony Joshua in an undisputed heavyweight championship
- Coronavirus causing all boxing fights to be postponed
Whyte has been waiting nine months for his title shot against the WBC champion since he defeated Oscar Rivas to become the WBC mandatory last July.
If Whyte gets his hopes for no reason, he could be crying crocodile tears if he fails to get his title shot next February. Sulaiman doesn’t know when the coronavirus will disappear. Therefore, he cannot accurately predict
Whyte working hard for July 4 fight
“It’s been good and challenging as well, the logistics of moving people around and getting my team here,” said Whyte to Sky Sports Boxing on getting his team to Portugal for training camp. “I’ve got a couple of guys here to spar.
‘Ideally, I’d like a couple of more good heavyweights in, but it is what it is. We’ll just remain professional and keep training. My training camps are to keep improving and building layers on top of layers. So for me, I’ve just been getting on and being professional. I drove down with the three dogs, and it took a long time. I had to stop and let them walk.
“The fight if it goes ahead, great. if it doesn’t, then we’ll reschedule and go again,” said Whyte on his fight with Povetkin. “At the moment, it’s still going ahead, and training camp is full steam. There are far more important things going on in the world than boxing. As a professional, I have to keep training and keep motivated and keep training like it’s going ahead,” said Whyte.
It’s good that Whyte isn’t easing off with his training for his rescheduled July 4 bout against 40-year-old Povetkin, considering that it would be bad news if he doesn’t train. In Whyte’s last fight against Mariusz Wach, he came into it the match at a career-high 271 lbs, and he took a beating. Whyte won the contest, but he got hammered by the 6’7 1/2″ Wach and looked like the loser at the end.
Dillian not worried if Povetkin match falls through
“It is going ahead. If it goes ahead, I don’t want to be caught with my trousers down,” said Whyte of his fight with Povetkin. “It is tough and very challenging because you have to take into consideration the peaking, the sparring time. I’m a big guy and the training, running, and sparring takes a lot out.
“I’m just working on building layers and working on my technique and working on building my strength and other things. My boxing coach is working on things, and getting the game plan ready. The more time that I have, the better it is.
“I’m learning a lot of new things. It’s hard to believe that at this stage of my career, I’m still learning new things, but I am. It is frustrating, but it’s also time for me to keep building layers and practicing what I’ve been taught. Hopefully, by the time the fight comes up, I’ll be flying,” said Whyte.
Dillian should be worried if his fight with Alexander Povetkin keeps getting postponed. The Whyte-Povetkin match has already postponed once, and if it keeps happening, Whyte isn’t get his mandated title shot in 2021 against WBC champ. Whyte was supposed to fight Povetkin on May 2, but the coronavirus caused the contest to be rescheduled for July 4.
Whyte ready for Joshua fight
“I’ve been saying I want the rematch since the fight, obviously,” said Whyte when asked if he’s still interested in the rematch with Anthony Joshua. “They tried to lie to the public that they wanted to fight me in June, which they didn’t because I already know from inside information that they were going to fight Miller in America in June on DAZN.
“I said months before the fight. They came to me and gave me seven weeks’ notice. I said, ‘You guys gave Miller 20 weeks. Why are you trying to give me seven weeks, because they weren’t serious about the fight? They just used me as a scapegoat. They just pretended that they wanted to make the fight.
“If they want to make the fight, I’m here. They [Team Joshua] know if they want to make the fight, we can make the fight happen. We’re both Sky fighters; we’re both with Matchroom, we’re both Britsh.
“If you want the fight, the fights there. I think there’s no point in lying to the fans and talking rubbish. If Joshua wants it, he can get it,” said Whyte on Joshua.
Joshua isn’t going to fight Whyte soon unless he can get a hold of the WBC title, which is in Tyson Fury’s possession. The chances of Joshua getting a shot at fighting Fury in the next 12 months are slim. Joshua’s June 20 fight against IBF mandatory Kubrat Pulev is likely to be postponed, and that fight might get pushed to the end of the year or even later. Joshua will want to fight the winner of the Fury vs. Deontay Wilder trilogy.
With the way things are looking with the coronavirus, Joshua will need to wait until mid-year in 2021 before he faces the Fury-Wilder 3 winner.
