By Charles Brun: Eddie Hearn says British heavyweight Dillian Whyte will be fighting in late August in the United States in a fight that he thinks will make some noise for him. Unfortunately, Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) won’t fight Deontay Wilder, Luis Ortiz, or Andy Ruiz Jr.
Hearn says that it’ll be a “good fight” for Dillian, which can be construed as code for ‘soft touch.‘ That’s not exactly the type of opponent that Whyte, 33, needs for him to open the U.S market.
The foreign fighters that have hit it big in the U.S have done so by fighting quality opposition in exciting drama-filled fights.
Hearn isn’t going to be able to turn Whyte into a star in America if he’s dragging out no-name opposition of old 40+-year-old fighters like the one he just beat in Alexander Povetkin last March.
WBC interim heavyweight champion Whyte will get a title shot against whoever winds up holding the WBC belt after the smoke clears between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.
We’re probably looking at Dillian getting a title shot by late 2022 or early 2023 if he doesn’t lose again.
At this point, Hearn is likely apprehensive about matching Whyte against a good heavyweight for fear of him losing again.
Whyte’s fifth round knockout loss to Alexander Povetkin last year cost him a world title shot that he likely would have gotten earlier this year.
Although Whyte recently avenged his defeat to Povetkin in stopping him in the fourth round in their rematch on March 27th, he’s not going to get a title shot soon.
That loss last year for Whyte messed up everything for him and his promoters, and now all he can do is keep winning and waiting his turn.
Whyte to fight in the U.S
“I think the best thing everyone feels is for Dillian Whyte to fight in America next,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV. “He’s not going to have a huge fight next.
It’s going to be a good fight, a solid fight, and if that’s the case, with the crowd restrictions in the UK, it’s a bigger story and better strategy to go to America and make some noise.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of talk between him and Deontay Wilder. We’ll see what happens on July 24th [in the Bronze Bomber’s fight against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury].
“Andy Ruiz is a fight that he [Whyte] wants as well and Luis Ortiz. There are massive fights in America.
“So we’re looking at dates at the end of August for Dillian Whyte to box in America, and I think, and the team feels that strategically is the best option for his next fight,” said Hearn.
If Hearn has any confidence in Whyte, he should put him in with the best possible opponent, be it, Michael Hunter or Luis Ortiz.
It’s got to be someone good that Whyte fights for him to create buzz about him challenging for a world title in 2022 or 2023.
Dillian to “make some noise” in America
“Expect a good fight,” said Hearn when told not to expect King Kong for Dillian’s next clash at the end of August in the United States.
“I think Dillian Whyte has been in tough fight after tough fight. Every fight is tough. He’s not going to be taking an easy touch.
“But right now, it might not be Andy Ruiz or Luis Ortiz or Wilder or these kinds of names.
“But the plan is to get Dillian Whyte two fights this year, and obviously the back end being a bigger fight. I would like to see him go out and make some noise in the U.S market,” Hearn said.
Charles Brun hates to break this to Hearn, but Whyte won’t make noise in America if he’s matched against a low-level scrub opponent.
It doesn’t matter if DAZN gives Whyte main-event status for his August fight. If his opponent is a poor fighter or one that Americans have never heard of, it’s going to work against Whyte and Matchroom.
The fans will criticize Whyte for fighting another weak opponent. Moreover, the fans won’t bother subscribing to DAZN to watch Whyte fight against a lesser fighter.
Hearn has got the ability to match Whyte against a decent-quality fighter in August if he’s willing to take a risk with his career. Whyte should fight one of these guys:
- Michael Hunter
- Luis Ortiz
- Filip Hrgovic
- Efe Ajagba
- Frank Sanchez
- Joseph Parker
- Joyce Joyce
- Daniel Dubois
- Tony Yoka
DAZN has big plans for Dillian
“Yeah, obviously he’s been fighting on Sky pay-per-view for a long time,” said Hearn about DAZN likely wanting to tie up a deal with Whyte for him to fight on their streaming service.
“That would be an option for him. We want to move him forward with DAZN, and so do they. I think they have big plans for him globally.
“They have the ability to make massive fights with Dillian in America, massive fights for him in the UK fights in Asia maybe with [Zhilei] Zhang, and in Australia with the likes of Demsey McKean or other heavyweights over there.
“They have the ability to box him globally, and I’m sure there will be an announcement in due course,” said Hearn about Whyte.
DAZN would do well to ensure that Whyte is facing quality opposition to building his brand globally.
If the idea is to help the 33-year-old Whyte become a global attraction, they will not accomplish that goal by matching him against fighters like Demsey McKean and Zhilei Zhang.
Whyte just had an easy fight against 41-year-old Alexander Povetkin last March. Povetkin had been ill recently with COVID 19, and he looked like he wasn’t anywhere near healthy enough to be fighting Whyte.
To build Whyte into a big enough name to interest fans in him taking on the winner of the Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury fight, they need to match him against Luis Ortiz, Andy Ruiz Jr, or Filip Hrgovic.
It’s questionable whether Dillian can beat any of those guys, but if he can’t, he has no business fighting the Joshua-Fury winner.
Charles Martin wants Whyte
“Unfortunately, Eddie Hearn don’t want nothing to do with me beating his man,” said Charles Martin to Sky Sports.
“I guess he don’t want to get his clock cleaned again if he fights me. Whyte is an easy fight. He takes too many clean punches.”
I want to welcome Dillian Whyte to the United States with another knockout loss. Knocking out Dillian Whyte would put me one step closer to Joshua,” said Martin.
“Once I heard Whyte was coming to the U.S, I can’t resist wanting to make that fight. Whyte ain’t s**t. That fight would be a piece of cake for me in the U.S,” said Martin.
Former IBF heavyweight champion Charles Martin (28-2-1, 25 KOs) is throwing his name in the hat to be the next opponent for Whyte when he fights in August in America.
‘Prince’ Charles Marin will need to have his management at Premier Boxing Champions call Hearn if he’s serious about wanting to fight Dillian.
The name that is being mentioned for Whyte to face in August in the States is American Jermaine Franklin (20-0, 13 KOs).
The idea behind Matchroom picking Franklin is his unbeaten record, which will look and sound better in the build-up to the fight with Dillian than if he were fighting someone that already has losses on their resume.
However, the downside of Whyte being matched against Franklin is that nobody knows who this guy is, not even Americans. If Hearn is under any illusion about Franklin being a known commodity to the U.S boxing fans, he needs to be clued in.
American fans have no idea who Franklin is because he’s never fought anyone good. Franklin’s best win on his resume is a controversial 10 round decision over journeyman Jerry Forrest in July 2019.
Franklin’s management should have run it back by putting him back in with Forrest to clear up the controversy, but it’s understandable why they didn’t.
Forrest would likely beat Franklin if they fought a second time. Heck, Whyte might as well fight Jerry Forrest next in August.
If Hearn is picking a low-level opposition for ensuring Whyte doesn’t lose again, Forrest would be just as good as Franklin.
It would be a waste of time if the idea is to make Whyte a household name in the U.S, though, but if Hearn is worried about Dillian losing again, Franklin is ideal.
Martin, 35, has won his last three fights, beating these lower-level fighters Daniel Martz, Gerald Washington, and Gregory Corbin.