By Charles Brun: Highly ranked heavyweight contender Charles Martin says he wants Dillian Whyte to stop hiding behind his promoter Eddie Hearn and fight him next month when he comes to America for a headliner bout in late August.

Martin seems to believe that Hearn is protecting Whyte from fighting him by picking out a soft opponent for his next fight in America. If that’s true, Hearn will need to choose a fighter that the U.S boxing fans have heard of before.

For Whyte’s August fight in the U.S, American Jermaine Franklin (20-0, 13 KOs) is one of the guys that is being considered as his opponent. It’s unknown if this is someone that DAZN wants or if Hearn picked him.

Franklin’s best win on his resume is a controversial 10 round split decision victory over journeyman Jerry Forrest in July 2019. Many boxing fans feel that Forrest was robbed.

If Whyte fights Franklin, it suggests that he’s not looking to fight the best. It’s all smoke & mirrors for Whyte by choosing a fighter with an unbeaten record, filled with weak opposition from top to bottom.

If Hearn will give Whyte a soft touch, at least he should pick someone that the American fans have heard of before.

Former IBF champion Martin (28-2-1, 25 KOs) was dismissed by WBC interim champion Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) as a potential option for his next fight in the U.S.

According to Whyte, he wants to fight the best, but he hasn’t been doing that. His last two opponents have been 41-year-old Alexander Povetkin and 40-year-old Mariusz Wach. Those guys are clearly NOT the best.

“Boy, you talking all that slick mess. You ain’t the prize; Fury is the prize. Joshua is the prize,” Charles Martin said to Sky Sports.

“You going to come over here, all the way to America to fight a bum, and not me. Why don’t you let me welcome you here by knocking you out?” said Martin.

Charles is ranked #2 IBF, #6 WBA, #14 WBC. In contrast, the guy Whyte is considering for his August fight, Jermaine Franklin, isn’t ranked in the top 15.

If Whyte is looking to impress American boxing fans, it’s a no-brainer that he would select a highly ranked contender like Charles Martin rather than an obscure guy like Franklin, who ISN’T ranked at all in the top 15.

Of course, if the objective is for Whyte to take a non-risky fight against a fighter with little talent, an unbeaten record for a showcase fight, it’s understandable why he would want to steer clear of fighting Martin.

Whyte is obviously not going to put his WBC mandatory status on the line by fighting an actual contender like the 6’5″ Charles Martin, who has a lot of pop in his punches.

Whyte’s loss to Povetkin last year showed how vulnerable he is, and it doesn’t matter that he avenged the loss last March. Povetkin was coming off of a bad COVID 19 illness from late last year, and he looked like he wasn’t anywhere near 100% when he fought Dillian in their rematch at Gibraltar.

“I’m rated all across the board brother, so who else are you going to fight?” continued Martin to Whyte.

“If you really want to convince people that I’m easy, then why don’t you come over here and take this easy money from me then? Because you know you can’t do that. Stop hiding behind Eddie Hearn,” said Martin.

If Whyte doesn’t fancy the idea of fighting the 6’5″ Charles, he should pick someone well known to U.S boxing fans like Michael Hunter, Luis Ortiz, or Joseph Parker. Those would be great options.

Martin would be perfect for Whyte because of his size, power, and his pedigree. Whyte needs to get ready to take on a tall heavyweight champion like Anthony Joshua or Tyson Fury.

Who knows? The 6’7″ Deontay Wilder could be the last man standing as the undisputed heavyweight champion when Whyte gets his mandated title shot against the WBC belt-holder.

If Wilder wins his fight this month against Fury on July 24th and then defeats the winner of the September 25th fight between IBF/WBA/WBO champion Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk, it’ll be him that Dillian challenges for the four belts in 2022.

Given that Whyte will likely be fighting a tall heavyweight next year, it makes sense for him to face Martin next.