By Barry Holbrook: Dillian Whyte has until Saturday, February 19th, to sign his contract and send it into Tyson Fury’s team if he wants to face him next on April 23rd.
Fury’s promoters Bob Arum and Frank Warren have made it clear that if Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) doesn’t sign his contract by February 19th, they’re moving on.
Gareth A. Davies says it would be “silly” for the WBC heavyweight mandatory Whyte not to sign his contract by the 19th, but he’s missed out on significant opportunities in the past.
Unfortunately, given the 34-year-old Whyte’s track record, you can’t put it past him to miss the deadline and wind up without a title shot against Fury.
For Whyte not to sign his contract, you would have to believe that his promoter Eddie Hearn has a good option for him to get a nice payday against another famous fighter.
Whyte up against the deadline
You can’t put it past Whyte to intentionally miss the deadline for the Fury fight and then play the victim rather admit that he blew it.
“I think we will in the next 48 hours, won’t we? Dillian Whyte against Tyson has to happen,” said Gareth A. Davies to iFL TV when asked why there hasn’t been a confirmation that the Fury vs. Whyte fight is signed.
“I think Dillian Whyte would be very silly to step away from this fight and not take it.
I imagine that his lawyers at least are trying to contractually push the upside from the pay-per-view event, which it will be, and get another slither from themselves because they got the 80/20 split.
“He’s [Whyte] guaranteed six million pounds, and another 2.8 million if he wins, of course, from the four million that is in escrow of the 10 percent of the forty million that was put down in the winning purse bid.
“That feels like a long time from now. It’s been very protracted, very long. I suspect we’ll get some leaked information late Friday night, early Saturday morning that we’re probably going to attend the press conference in London. I don’t know where exactly.
“I don’t know if it’s open to the public. It probably isn’t, and if it is, great. Let’s hope that’s signed. I just bumped into Tommy Fury, and he wants to be on the undercard as well.
“He’s still hunting for that Jake Paul fight later in the year, he told me. A little bit of news for you if you don’t know that. No, it would be a travesty if this fight isn’t signed.
Wembley Stadium potential venue
“Look at how long Dillian has waited. Twelve thousand days to challenge for the WBC title, and it’s a big fight. Tyson Fury was in top form last week. Frank Warren was there.
“Bob Arum had snuck over, snuck through the border for a lunch at an Italian restaurant in London. Come on and let’s get this fight and get the job and then let’s get the Joshua-Usyk fight announced. Then we know where we are in this.
“It’s a great fight [Fury-Whyte],” said Davies. “Dillian Whyte will bring all his cajones to that fight. He’ll come battling forward. Tyson Fury will try and jab him long, hit him with the long right hand.
“Dillian will be looking to get inside and land that left hook that can put anyone asleep. It’s a great fight, as you said. I wasn’t making an allusion to it. I mean it.
“We need that contract signed, and I think it will happen before Saturday, and I expect to see the two guys [Fury and Whyte] at the press conference early next week.
“Let’s hope it’s April 23rd. I hope it’s Wembley Stadium because I think it’s a fitting fight for the big football capital in the UK. It does look like Wembley. We know they’re looking at it. Wembley is always the #1 prime venue.
“The media is largely based in London anyway; that’s where the pulse is. Cardiff is harder for hotels in a sense, but let’s just get it on,” said Davies.
It would be disappointing if mediocre fighters like Fury’s half-brother Tommy Fury winds up on the undercard of his fight with Whyte.
With all the money that the Fury-Whyte will be pulling in, the promoters can afford to stack the card with quality fighters and talented prospects.
Tommy Fury isn’t talented,d and he’s not a prospect that has the potential ever to capture a world title. The only thing Tommy has going for him is he’s the half-brother of Tyson.
