By Scott Gilfoid: Eddie Hearn says Dillian ‘The Bodysnatcher’ Whyte will STILL be fighting for the title even if WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury chooses not to fight him next.
That’s Whyte’s Plan-B if Fury chooses to go in another direction for his next fight rather than following the WBC’s orders to defend against his mandatory as ordered.
That is to say; if Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs) decides he would prefer to fight someone else next, he’ll be stripped of his WBC title by the World Boxing Council, and Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) will face the next highest-ranked contender in the WBC’s rankings for the belt.
Fury could vacate his WBC title
Hearn also says that Whyte will NOT agree to a rematch clause should Fury ask him for him because he will fight for his WBC title and move on towards the winner of the Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk 2 rematch.
More than anything, Hearn’s revelation that Whyte won’t agree to a rematch clause for the Fury fight makes it less likely the contest will take place. That’s bad for Whyte because he’ll miss out on the massive payday against Fury, and there are no guarantees he’ll capture the vacated WBC belt.
Why would Fury agree to fight Whyte if he doesn’t have the assurance of a rematch clause?
Promoter Bob Arum says Fury could vacate his WBC title and instead defend his lineal and Ring belts against Andy Ruiz Jr. or Joseph Parker next.
If Fury vacates his WBC title, Whyte will take on the next highest-rated contender. In this case, Dillian would be required to face one of these ranked contenders for the vacated WBC title:
1. Deontay Wilder
2. Andy Ruiz Jr.
3. Joe Joyce
4. Luis Ortiz
5. Joseph Parker
6. Frank Sanchez
Can Whyte beat some of those fighters? Yeah, but there’s a high chance that he loses if he’s stuck fighting Wilder, Ruiz, Joyce, Ortiz, or Sanchez.
The only guy out of that group of killers that Whyte can maybe beat is Parker, and that’s only because he’s too much of a nice guy to be an elite heavyweight.
Hearn reveals Whyte’s Plan-B if no Fury fight
“It depends. A lot of it comes down to Tyson Fury,” said Eddie Hearn to Behind The Gloves in reacting to Dillian saying he doubts the fight with Fury will happen. “He [Fury] could walk away, he could vacate, he could take another fight, but he’s been ordered, and there really isn’t any escape.
“I don’t think Tyson [won’t fight Whyte]. And I think he’ll take the fight. I think he’ll be confident of the fight, and we’re confident that Dillian could cause an upset. It’s a good fight.
“No, just to fight for the WBC world title because that’s for sure,” said Hearn when asked if there’s a ‘Plan-B’ for Dillian if Fury chooses not to fight Whyte next.
“If Tyson Fury doesn’t fight him, Dillian will be fighting for the world title,” said Hearn.
It’s interesting how Hearn is acting like it’s an automatic gain for Whyte if Fury vacates his WBC title. Gilfoid doesn’t see how Whyte comes out ahead if Fury relinquishes his WBC trinket title.
I mean, not only will Whyte have to take a risky fight against one of the talented top contenders in the WBC rankings for the vacated belt, but the money he’ll get for that fight will be considerably less than what he would receive if he fights Fury.
As such, even if Whyte wins the vacated WBC title, he’ll make less money and be viewed as a paper champion and weakest link among the belt holders at heavyweight.
NO rematch clause for Fury from Whyte
Hearn proudly saying that Fury won’t get a rematch clause for his title defense against Whyte is an odd self-defeating comment from him. It’s as if Hearn is utterly unaware of how that move on Whyte’s part would affect him.
If the idea is to encourage Fury to vacate his WBC title, Hearn’s assistance on Whyte not agreeing to a rematch clause makes perfect sense. But apart from that, it sounds like a foolish, ham-handed move on Whyte and Hearn’s part.
“I still think AJ against Usyk will find its way to the UK, but we’ll see,” said Hearn. “April, I would say for AJ against Usyk and maybe March for Fury against Whyte.
“They won’t get one,” said Hearn when told that Frank Warren isn’t interested in pushing for a rematch clause for Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte, should that fight happen.
“That’s not doing a good job for their client [Fury]. I mean, if Tyson Fury gets knocked out and doesn’t have a rematch clause, it might have been a good idea to negotiate one, but I don’t think Dillian Whyte would give him one anyway.
“If I didn’t negotiate a rematch clause for AJ to fight Usyk, he would not get the opportunity to walk straight back in and win his world heavyweight titles back.
“That’s called doing a great job,” Hearn continued in patting himself on the back. “Now, if Usyk said, ‘We won’t give you a rematch clause,’ we wouldn’t have got one.
“But he was incentivized financially, and now he goes into a fight with AJ as the favorite where he’s going to make a load of money. So what that is is Frank Warren saying, ‘Eddie Hearn gets rematch clauses. We don’t need a rematch clause.’
“Okay, but when they trade up left hooks and Dillian Whyte knocks Tyson Fury out, see if they should have gotten a rematch clause? But to be honest with you, it’s a waste of time; Dillian Whyte won’t give him one anyway,” said Hearn in making it clear that they intend on playing hardball with Fury and his team.
It’s fair to say that if Whyte loses out on his fight with Fury due to his refusal to give him a rematch clause, he could live to regret it.
Whyte has made some blunders during his career with his decision to go in the direction of the WBC title, refusing to fight in title eliminators, and taking a risky fight with Alexander Povetkin in 2020.
Suppose Whyte refuses not to give Fury a rematch clause that could take the cake. Dillian would lose out on big money from the Fury fight and likely get knocked out when he attempts to battle for the abandoned WBC title.