By Allan Fox: Promoter Frank Warren says that Tyson Fury won’t be sitting around on his backside for the remainder of 2020 while waiting to defend his WBC heavyweight title against Deontay Wilder in February of 2021.
Warren states that Fury must face Wilder by December of this year, and then he’ll go ahead and face Anthony Joshua after that. Dillian Whyte won’t be Fury’s opponent after he faces Wilder in December.
They plan on matching Fury against Anthony Joshua in his next fight after Wilder.
It would be time-consuming for Fury to bother with Whyte after the Wilder fight, and that would get in the way of Tyson’s desired contests against Joshua. Those two are supposed to fight twice in 2021.
Fury is not going to fight Wilder in February
“It’s quite simple. Top Rank and Queensbury have the promotional rights for Tyson Fury, so we all have to agree to make it happen,” said Frank Warren to Boxing Social on Fury’s next fight.
“And Tyson, Bob [Arum] has made a statement saying the fights not going to happen until February. That is not going to happen. Tyson is not going to sit on his a** until February. That’s just not going to happen,” said Warren.
So there won’t be a Fury vs. Wilder fight next February, as Top Rank promoter Bob Arum recently suggested. If Fury and Wilder are fighting by December, then they need to get the battle done.
On the negative side, boxing fans probably won’t be allowed back into sporting events by December. If the vaccine isn’t going to be ready until December or January, it doesn’t seem viable that Fury-Wilder 3 will take place in front of fans.
“I’ll tell you that now. He has a contractual commitment, and that fight [between Fury and Wilder] has to happen by December,” said Warren.
“I talked to Tyson. He’s very firm where he’s at. He wants this fight [against Wilder], and then he wants AJ,” said Warren when asked if Fury will face Dillian Whyte after the Wilder fight.
It looks like Whyte is the odd man out, doesn’t it? Fury isn’t going to bother taking the fight with Dillian, and you can see why.
If Whyte were able to land a lucky punch, then he could ruin things for Fury, Joshua, and the boxing public that wants to see them battle.
Fury vs. Joshua is the fight fans want to see
“That’s where he’s at, and he’ll do what he wants to do,” Warren said. “He’s the lineal champion. He’s the #1 heavyweight in the world. Independently, the Ring Magazine makes him the #1 heavyweight.
“We all make him number one. It’ll be his decision because he’s the guy in the driver’s seat. I know AJ wants that fight [against Fury], or he says he wants it. So that’s all that counts. Let’s deliver the fans the fights they want to see,” said Frank.
It should be easy to make Fury vs. Joshua as long as the WBC doesn’t get in the way of that fight taking place. AJ still needs to beat Kubrat Pulev later on this year, and Fury has to beat Deontay Wilder.
It will be a shame if Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) is roped into jumping through one final hoop in satisfying his WBC mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte. That’s a fight that Fury would likely have no problems taking if he had nothing on his plate, but that’s not the situation now.
Fury has a vast money fight in front of him in Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs), and he doesn’t want to delay going straight into that contest after he faces Wilder in their trilogy match.
The WBC made it too easy for Whyte to earn their mandatory spot. All he had to do to become WBC obligatory was beat Oscar Rivas, a heavyweight who hasn’t beaten anyone good during his career. Before facing Whyte, ‘Kaboom’ Rivas’ best victory was against Bryant Jennings.
As long as Fury is willing to give up his WBC title by vacating it, then he doesn’t need to worry about the sanctioning body attempting to force him to face Whyte. The problem will be solved once Fury tosses the WBC title in the bin.
Warren wants Daniel Dubois vs. Dillian Whyte
“While we’re waiting, let Daniel Dubois fight against Dillian Whyte,” Warren added. “Let’s get that on because you’d like to see that, wouldn’t you? Is that an exciting and appealing fight?
“It ain’t going to happen because they are where they are,” said Warren when told that Whyte is waiting for his title shot against WBC champion Fury. “So the point I’m making is you’ve got to think about the fans,” Warren said.
Whyte isn’t going to be fighting Tyson Fury in early 2021 from the sounds of it, and that’s probably not going to make Eddie Hearn too happy. But you can’t blame Fury and Warren for not wanting to bother with Whyte. The money fight is Fury vs. Joshua. Whyte is more of an annoyance right now.
Warren didn’t say what Fury will do if Hearn and Whyte put pressure on the World Boxing Council to try and force Tyson to face Whyte. Does Fury vacate his WBC title, let the sanctioning body potentially strip him, or do they ask them to give him the Franchise tag?
Fury has the lineal and Ring Magazine title, and that should be more than enough. He can give up the WBC belt if the sanctioning body pushes him, and the boxing public won’t bat an eye.
“This is what you should be pushing for. The fans say they want to see Tyson against AJ. Is that right? That’s the #1 heavyweight fight,” continued Warren.
“Everyone wants to see. While that’s happening, the next big fight in this country and probably in the heavyweights out there is Dillian against the new kid on the block dangerous Dan [Dubois]. Would you like to see that? There you go. Let’s make them happen,” said Warren.
Whyte vs. Dubois would be a great fight, and a lot better than Dillian’s match Alexander Povetkin on August 22. The question is, would Whyte agree to face Dubois. That’s probably a big no. Whyte isn’t crazy.