Whyte wants WBC to force Fury to fight him next in 2020

By Boxing News - 05/24/2020 - Comments

By Charles Brun: WBC heavyweight interim champion Dillian ‘The Body Snatcher’ Whyte (27-1, 18 KOs) is angry with WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman because he’s not making it clear whether he’ll be able to challenge for the title in early 2021.

Whyte feels he should be getting a title shot because he’s been ranked #1 with the World Boxing Council since his win over Robert Helenius in 2017. However, Whyte didn’t earn the mandatory position until he fought Oscar Rivas last July.

Whyte has technically been the WBC mandatory for ten months, not three years like some boxing fans mistakenly believe. Whyte had the chance to fight Luis Ortiz in a WBC title eliminator in 2018, but he decided to face Dereck Chisora instead.

Although Sulaiman states that Whyte is mandated a title shot in February of next year against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, he’s not saying he’ll order that fight.

Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) has already stated that he plans on fighting IBF/WBA/WBO champion Anthony Joshua next, as long as both fighters when their next matches.

Fury is facing former WBC champion Deontay Wilder next in a trilogy match, and Joshua is defending against his IBF mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev.

Whyte will be facing Alexander Povetkin (35-2-1, 24 KOs) next, possibly in July behind closed doors at the Matchroom Boxing HQ.

Image: Whyte wants WBC to force Fury to fight him next in 2020

Sulaiman: Whyte’s mandatory due in February 2021

“He’s the mandatory challenger, and he’ s the WBC interim champion. The date for the next mandatory is February 2021,” said WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman to Sky Sports Boxing about Whyte. “Being #1 doesn’t necessarily mean you’re the mandatory contender.

The date is February 2021 [for Whyte’s WBC mandatory challenge]. Wilder’s rematch with Fury is a contractual situation that they have, that’s their own contract and their own situation. The WBC’s mandatory is Dillian Whyte for the time that was stipulated,” said Sulaiman.

In looking at it from Sulaiman’s perspective, it’s easy to see why he’s not saying if Whyte will get a title shot against the WBC champion in February next year.

The fight between Fury and Joshua is the match the entire world wants to see, and Sulaiman would be shooting himself in the foot if he lets Whyte get in the way of that fight.

Beyond that, if Whyte were to beat Fury, it would wreck the Joshua-Fury fight, and that would be bad news for boxing. While some fans in the UK would be thrilled to see Joshua and Whyte tangle, it’s not a contest that would interest the American fans. Wyte is a no-name in the States, and that’s not going to change anytime soon.

Whyte angry

“I don’t know. Mauricio Suliaman says a lot of things. It makes me angry and frustrated that he’s saying one thing, and he’s doing another thing,” said Dillian Whyte to Sky Sports Boxing in reacting to Sulaiman’s comments. “He says one thing, and he does another thing. Tyson Fury refused to fight me for a WBC mandated fight for the Diamond belt.

“Secondly, they took my mandatory position away and gave Tyson Fury the mandatory position to fight Otto Wallin. They suspended my mandatory position. It’s a joke,” said Whyte.

Boxing is a business, and as soon as Whyte understands that, the better off he’ll be. If he’s not gotten his title shot after ten months, he needs to look at the big picture. Deontay chose to fight Fury twice because it was a bigger fight than if he had defended against Whyte.

Dillian also hurt his own cause by not agreeing to face Luis Ortiz in 2018 when the WBC ordered the two to fight in a title eliminator. That was a mistake on Whyte’s part because if he’d beaten Ortiz, he would have gotten a title shot by now.

Image: Whyte wants WBC to force Fury to fight him next in 2020

Dillian wants WBC to order Fury to fight him

“I don’t care if Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder are contracted,” said Whyte. “Wilder is injured, so they should order Tyson Fury to fight me as they’ve done before. Do I just abandon my position and go pursue something else.

“The boxing fans need to put pressure on Mauricio Sulaiman to fight me next. I’ve been risking the #1 position [with the World Boxing Council] since 2017, and I’m still here risking it and fighting these guys. [Alexander] Povetkin WAS #1 with the WBC, which I’m going to fight [next].

“I beat[Robert] Helenius, I beat [Dereck] Chisora, I beat this guy, and I beat that guy,” said Whyte. “And I spent hundreds of thousands in sanctioning fees. I won every single WBC belt that I’m eligible for apart from the world title. I believe I can be the WBC champion, and I’ve always believed I can be WBC champion,” Whyte said.

Whyte is confusing his #1 status that he’d had since 2017 with that of a mandatory. Yes, Whyte has been ranked #1 with the WBC since 2017, but he wasn’t the mandatory challenger until last year when he beat Oscar Rivas in July 2019.

It’s Whyte’s fault for not facing Luis Ortiz in 2018 when the WBC ordered the two of them to fight. If Whyte had lost to Ortiz, which could have happened, he’d be in worse shape than he is now. Maybe it’s better that Whyte chose NOT to face Ortiz, and took the easier path by facing journeyman Chisora.

The WBC probably won’t order Fury to face Whyte next. Why would they? There’s nothing for the WBC to gain ordering Fury to face Whyte, considering that’s a smaller money fight that won’t attract fans.

Whyte doesn’t want to give up with the WBC

“I’ve put so much into it now,” said Whyte about the years he’s poured into getting a title shot at the WBC belt. “It’s a shame. They need to realize this guy [Whyte] has done everything we’ve asked of him and more. I’ve been loyal. That right, there should be enough for them to sort it out.

“We’ve done everything possible. They need to give me a special title. It is about the title because if you become the champion, that’s when you truly see the financial side. It’s about the world title.

“The world title brings the glory; it brings the history; it brings the finances. It’s all about the world title. That’ll be with me forever. It’s like winning an Olympic gold medal,” said Whyte.

The right choice for Whyte is to keep pushing for his title shot against WBC champion Tyson Fury. Dillian has already invested all this time in trying to get the title shot with the WBC belt, and it would be a waste for him to go in another direction. But in hindsight, Whyte should have given up on the WBC back in 2018 when he decided not to face Ortiz in a title eliminator.

When Whyte made that move, he might as well have given up and gone after one of the other belts.

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