By Scott Gilfoid: Promoter Bob Arum says Tyson Fury could abandon the idea of defending his WBC heavyweight title against Dillian Whyte next and instead face Andy Ruiz Jr, Joseph Parker, or possibly another contender for his next fight in March.
If Fury jettisons his WBC title, he’ll save himself a lot of trouble and headache trying to negotiate a fight with Whyte.
In the long run, Fury and his promoters are better off getting rid of the WBC title because it’s useless baggage for him.
Arum’s idea would be for Fury to vacate his WBC title and use his lineal & Ring champion status to defend against Ruiz or Parker. The boxing public won’t care because they already view Fury as the true champion in the division.
Consequently, the WBC title is useless and unimportant in the large scheme of things regarding Fury’s next fight.
Ruiz or Parker = options for Fury’s next fight
Showing signs of frustration at the time that is being spent in coming to a deal with WBC mandatory Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs), the Top Rank boss Arum says they may choose to face former IBF/WBA/WBO champion Ruiz (34-2, 22 KOs) or former WBO champion Parker (30-2, 21 KOs).
Either of those choices would likely result in more significant viewing numbers for a fight against the unbeaten Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs) in terms of U.S fans.
Ruiz and Parker are arguably more prominent names in the States than Whyte, who isn’t well known with casual boxing fans.
“If we can’t come to a deal with Dillian Whyte, we’ll do a fight for the Ring Magazine belt and the ‘lineal’ title, and we’ll pick another opponent,” said Bob Arum to TalkSport on Fury’s next fight in March.
“We’ve got to get Tyson back in the ring by the end of March,” Arum continued in making it clear that Whyte is running out of time.
For American boxing fans, they would much prefer to see Fury defend against Andy Ruiz Jr. than they would Whyte, who offers very little in terms of appeal.
Fans can’t forget Whyte getting knocked out
Many U.S fans are still having a difficult time erasing the image that has been burned into their heads of watching Whyte get knocked cold by 40-year-old Alexander Povetkin in 2020.
Yeah, Whyte avenged his loss to Povetkin earlier this year in March in Gibraltar, but that was AFTER the Russian fighter came back from a COVID 19 illness in late 2020
. That dreadful virus took a lot out of Povetkin, leaving him looking like a shell of the fighter he’d been in 2020 when he defeated Whyte.
If Fury vacates his WBC title, it’ll be fought over by Whyte and the highest-ranked available & willing contender in the World Boxing Council’s rankings.
Arum is looking for an acceptable opponent
“Frank [Warren] and I are determined to come to him with an opponent that’s acceptable, and we’d love to do that fight in Cardiff. Andy Ruiz Jr is a possibility.
“Joseph Parker, I see had a good victory over Derek Chisora – that could be a possibility. And we’re looking at a couple of other names that might be appropriate,” said Arum.
Parker isn’t an ideal option for Fury’s next fight, but U.S fans would prefer the New Zealander if it came down to choosing between him and Whyte.
Whyte’s promoter Eddie Hearn has been bellyaching about how he’s been waiting all these years, ranked #1 with the WBC, and unable to get a title shot.
Whyte’s problem was his decision not to take part in WBC title eliminators when the sanctioning body ordered him to face Luis Ortiz. Whyte lost a lot of time by choosing not to face Ortiz, which was his mistake. You can’t blame that on former WBC champion Deontay Wilder.