By Charles Brun: Eddie Hearn says he understands the WBC’s decision not to order the Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte fight at their convention this week.
Hearn states that he believes that Whyte’s ongoing arbitration lawsuit case will go his way, and the WBC will then order the Fury-Whyte fight immediately after. As of now, the lawsuit is preventing Whyte from being made mandatory for Tyson Fury.
According to Hearn, he thinks that without Whyte’s lawsuit, the WBC probably wouldn’t have called the mandatory for Dillian to challenge Fury.
The arbitration case has to play out with a decision before the WBC will order the Fury vs. Whyte fight.
Hearn doesn’t seem to understand that if the fight is to go ahead, the 55-45 split will need to be deduced to 80-20 in Fury’s favor. That’s what his promoters at Top Rank asked for this week to the WBC.
If Fury vacates his WBC title, the sanctioning body will be out in the cold and won’t be a part of his fight against the winner of the Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk 2 clash. Whyte fighting the Joshua vs. Usyk winner won’t resonate in the United States.
U.S casual boxing fans have no clue who Whyte is, and the networks won’t be able to sell that.
Sure, the WBC can elevate Whyte to their new champion if Fury vacates the belt, but it won’t be the same money if Dillian is the champion.
Hearn confident arbitration will go Whyte’s way
“I think the truth is, without the lawsuit, would he [Dillian Whyte[ have even been called for the mandatory by the WBC? I think the answer is probably now or certainly with the terms that he would want,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV about WBC not ordering the mandatory between Fury and Whyte at their convention this week.
“The legal case and the arbitration has to make its decision, and we believe it’ll be a more favorable decision than what it would be for a standard WBC ruling,” said Hearn.
“The WBC said yesterday, ‘We can’t make a ruling because of this ongoing situation.’ I get it. We’re very confident the ruling will be in the best interest of Dillian Whyte, bearing in mind the circumstances, and he will be called the mandatory challenger to Tyson Fury.
“I’m a bit disappointed that it didn’t take place yesterday, but Dillian and his team have been working hard behind the scenes. But we’re very confident the legal matter will be resolved, and he will be the mandatory for Tyson Fury,” Hearn said.
The arbitration may go in Whyte’s favor, but that still won’t force Fury to take the fight with him if it doesn’t make sense.
Fury doesn’t need the WBC title to fight the winner of the Joshua vs. Usyk rematch, and it would be a mistake for the sanctioning body to try and force the issue.
Hearn says Whyte should get around 45% split for Fury fight
“Maybe that’s one of the reasons why the legal route is the better route so that there’s no goalpost moving; there’s no doubt when this fight is going to be ordered and when it’s going to take place. I think everyone is in a tough spot, but I feel Dillian Whyte has got to get what he deserves.
“I don’t think anyone in boxing that doesn’t agree that Dillian Whyte should get a shot at a heavyweight world title,” said Hearn. “Maybe Top Rank. We’ll see what the arbitrators believe, and then, as I said, very confident from our side that he’ll [Whyte] be called as the mandatory for Tyson Fury.
“Possibly,” said Hearn when asked if the Fury – Whyte purse split will come into play to potentially stop the fight from happening. “That’s almost secondary to the fight being ordered. The interim champion can receive up to 45% of a split, and I believe it should be towards those kinds of levels.
“I saw Top Rank talk about 20% [at the WBC convention]. That’s outrageous, but that’s something to be left to them. The problem is time. We need to move forward, and it is closing in, and I’m confident that it’ll be a ruling that is fair to Dillian Whyte,” said Hearn.
Top Rank’s request of 20% for Whyte sounds like a fair split when you consider the money that Dillian has made in his past fights.
If Whyte is making $350,o00, and Fury $20 million, it doesn’t make sense for the purse split between them to be 55-45. 80-20 or 90-10 would be more realistic, given the massive disparity between how much the two fighters are making now.
Eddie expects Fury-Whyte to happen in early 2022
“Yeah,” said Hearn when asked if he believes Whyte will challenge WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in the first third of 2022. “I think it’s closing in. I don’t think we’re far away from a decision in that respect, and we’d like to make that fight early next year.
“Dillian Whyte is ready for that fight. Probably in the early part of next year, he’ll probably resume training in the early part of next week.
“He’s got a little bit more treatment, and then he’ll be good to go to get back into camp and then start preparing for a shot against Tyson Fury. That’s what I want, and that’s what I believe is fair, and that’s what I believe will happen,” said Hearn.
It sounds like wishful thinking on Hearn’s part to be assuming Whyte will fight Fury in early 2022, and Charles Brun believes the fight WON’T happen in early 2022.
Instead, we’re likely to see Fury face someone famous like Andy Ruiz Jr. in the first quarter of 2022, and who knows who Whyte will fight?
