By Charles Brun: The World Boxing Council ordered WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury to defend against interim champion Dillian Whyte next. It’s now in the negotiation period between the two with a purse bid if they cannot reach an agreement.
Today’s WBC announcement for the Fury vs. Whyte negotiations to begin will undoubtedly make Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn a VERY, very happy person because he’s been pushing hard.
Ole Hearn is probably as happy as a clam right now, jumping for joy at the prospects of getting a potential two-for-one deal with Whyte getting the first crack at Fury.
Even if Fury destroys Whyte, Anthony Joshua could face the ‘Gypsy King’ in 2022, provided he defeats Oleksander Usyk.
It’s unclear whether Fury will be overjoyed with the news of him being ordered to face Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs). I mean, the way that Fury was talking on Monday, he sounded indifferent about the possibility of being ordered to face Whyte, saying this to iFL TV:
“I’d fight Dillian Whyte at the drop of the hat,” said Fury. “It’s nothing to do with ‘Tyson won’t fight.’ He’s been the mandatory for 200 million days, but he ain’t been my mandatory one time…When they [WBC] makes him my mandatory challenger, I will defend my belt and butcher him. He ain’t been my mandatory because if he were, I’d be fighting him,” said Fury about Whyte.
Fury’s comment may have unwittingly led the WBC to pull the trigger on the fight with Whyte because he made it clear to them that he has no issues with defending against him.
If Fury had sounded negative about the idea of fighting Whyte, it wouldn’t surprise Charles Brun if the WBC still had Dillian on hold, flapping in the wind waiting for a fight that would never happen.
Despite WBC ordering the fight, there’s still a possibility the Fury – Whyte match WON’T happen.
Possible issues that could prevent the Fury vs. Whyte fight from happening:
- Step aside deal for Anthony Joshua to allow Fury to face IBF/WBA/WBO champion Oleksander Usyk
- WBC title vacated by Fury
- Top Rank asks for an exception from the WBC to allow Fury to face another opponent
- Fury or Whyte injured
The timing of Fury having to fight Whyte is TERRIBLE because it’s coming right after Dillian bailed out on his October 30th match against Otto Wallin.
Will the INJURED Whyte make it through the training camp?
Fury better hope that Whyte’s injured shoulder heals quickly because he can’t afford to devote all of 2022 waiting for Dillian to be healthy enough to fight him.
Shoulder injuries tend to linger for ages, and Fury doesn’t have eons of time to spend waiting for Whyte to be healthy enough to fight.
Dillian pulled out of the Otto fight due to him having a left shoulder injury, but fans in the boxing public believe that he FAKED it once he learned that the WBC would order Fury to fight him.
So, they think Whyte isn’t injured and just wanted to avoid risking another loss because he’s been knocked cold last year by Alexander Povetkin.
Given the suspicion that many boxing fans have about Whyte and his shoulder injury, they think is 100% undeserving of a world title shot against Fury.