By Charles Brun: Eddie Hearn says Dillian Whyte will likely fight on Canelo Alvarez’s undercard on September 18th. Hearn isn’t saying yet who WBC interim heavyweight champion Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) will be fighting, but he said his opponent has already been finalized, and there will be an announcement in due course.
Hearn said that Whyte could fight on one of two dates in September. If he fights on Canelo’s undercard, it’s believed he’ll be fighting a non-contender. If he headlines his own card, he’s expected to face a top 15 guy.
Placing Whyte on Canelo’s undercard on September 18th will give him much visibility to be seen by Americans who have never seen any of his fights. If Hearn chooses to feed Whyte a soft opponent, it’s got to be someone that at least is competitive with him.
The guy can’t look like someone pulled out of a local pub and thrown into the ring on the night to face Dillian.
American boxing fans know a mismatch when they see one, and Whyte won’t enamor them if his opponent looks like a lower-level stiff.
Hearn must be careful with how he matches Whyte, as 41-year-old Alexander Povetkin knocked him out in 2020. Whyte can punch, but he’s vulnerable on defense, and his punch resistance isn’t good enough for him to fight the way he does.
The name that Hearn has discussed with the media previously is American Jermaine Franklin. He’s an unbeaten second-tier level fighter whose best career win was a controversial 10 round decision over journeyman Jerry Forrest in 2019.
Many boxing fans that saw that fight had Forrest winning. With that said, Franklin can punch, so Whyte will need to be careful that he doesn’t get clipped, as we saw in his first fight with Povetkin.
Whyte could be added to Canelo undercard
“Just seeing what’s happening with the Canelo situation, there are some discussions about Dillian [Whyte] maybe fighting on that card as well, along with this talks with PBC,” said Hearn to iFL TV on Dillian Whyte’s next fight.
“We’re also talking to [manager] Luis DeCubas about a possible Arreola fight, a Charles Martin fight for Dillian Whyte, which could come after his August/September fight.
“Dillian Whyte will fight on August 28th or, more likely, now in September. If we do the Canelo fight, we’ve been discussing with Saul and Eddy Reynoso offers from PBC for the Plant fight, our offers, and our potential people.
“If we do the show, then it’s very likely Dillian Whyte will fight on Canelo Alvarez’s undercard. If we don’t do the show and we accept the PBC offer for the Plant fight, that one fight, we may go on that card, or we may do an additional show in September with Dillian Whyte.
“I like the Mikey Garcia – Regis Prograis fight, it’s a fight that we’re discussing, and we’re trying to get it over the line as well.
“Maybe it can be a part of the doubleheader. In an ideal world, I’d like for Dillian to fight on Canelo Alvarez’s undercard. It’ll be a great profile for him and a great opportunity,” Hearn said.
I wonder what Dillian’s thoughts are on him potentially being given undercard status on a Canelo card? To go from being a headliner to undercard status, that’s got to be a weird experience for Whyte.
If Hearn plans to match Whyte against the unknown Jermaine Franklin, the only place for a fight like that is on an undercard, preferably buried three or fights down.
I hate to say it, but it’s not a great fight, but then again, I sat through Franklin’s match with journeyman Forrest. Hearn might as well have chosen Forrest as Whyte’s next opponent.
If you thought that Brian Castano got the business in his fight last Saturday night against Jermell Charlo, watch the Franklin vs. Forrest fight. Forrest should have won an easy decision, but being the B-side, the judges didn’t favor him on the night.
Dillian’s next opponent to be announced
“I expect Dillian Whyte now to fight on September the 18th or September 11th,” said Hearn. “We’d look to do that in Los Angeles.
“Obviously, if Canelo fights on September 18th, it’ll be in Las Vegas. Yes, quite possibly,” said Hearn when asked if he”ll be doing shows on both the 11th and 18th of September.
“Dillian was always supposed to fight on August 28th. It was a little early. He preferred to fight in September.
“But as I said, I would like for him to fight on the Canelo Alvarez card. That would be a tremendous place for him to box. The middle of September is really his preferred date.
“We’ve finalized his opponent now [for Whyte], which in due course, we’ll make a formal announcement. So we just want to nail down which of those two Saturdays [September 11th or September 18th] he fights on,” said Hearn.
Hopefully, Hearn has some good news when he announces Whyte’s next fight. He would make many boxing fans happy if he named Charles Martin as Whyte’s next opponent, as that’s a guy that boxing fans want to see him fight.