By Jack Tiernan: Dillian Whyte’s disappointing loss to Tyson Fury doesn’t have to be the end for ‘The Body Snatcher.’ Promoter Eddie Hearn believes Whyte (28-3, 19 KOs) can come back from his loss to Fury and still win a world title at heavyweight.
Whyte made over $7 million for his fight against Fury, and he was already a wealthy man before the fight. As long as the money doesn’t take away his hunger, he should be able to come back quickly to fight for another world title.
Hearn says that when the titles began to be fragmented, Whyte will be in position as a highly rated contender to go after one of them. Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) has already said he’ll be vacating.
As long as the 34-year-old Whyte isn’t pushed too far down in the rankings, he should be in a position to fight for a world title soon.
Look at Deontay Wilder as an example of that. He’s lost his last two fights against Fury by knockout, and he’s ranked #2 with the WBC.
The 6’9″ Fury is adamant that he’ll “NEVER” return to the sport, and instead, he’s going to put his energies into exhibition matches and WWE.
“We all know it was well-documented that it was a fantastic payday, he’s made a lot of money, but he can still be involved in some great fights,” said Eddie Hearn to DAZN Boxing Show about Dillian Whyte.
The money that Whyte made fighting Fury is a mere trifle on what he would have made had he beaten ‘The Gypsy King.’ Not only would Whyte have added an additional $4.1 million in bonus money to his base purse of $7.4 million, but he would have had the chance to fight the winner of the Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk 2 rematch.
Fury seems serious about not wanting to fight again, and his $33 million purse for his successful title defense against Whyte might have something to do with his decision not to continue on. If Fury only had $50 in his bank account, it’s safe to say he wouldn’t be retiring.
“Can he go on and win a world championship? Maybe when the dust settles and all these belts fragment, he’s a very good heavyweight,” Hearn continued about Whyte.
What Whyte needs is to be more active with his career if he wants to perform at a high level. Fury’s fight last night was only Dillian’s third in the last three years, and he’s fought only 15 rounds during that time.
It’s next to impossible for a fighter to stay sharp being as inactive as Whyte has, which had to have been a factor for why he looked out of breath early.
“Mindset is everything and he had the wrong mindset in that fight,” said Hearn.
“The Dillian Whyte that boxed AJ [in 2015], that guy was a bad mother f****. Back then if Tyson Fury had tickled him in the press conference, Dillian would have cleaned him out on sight,” said Hearn.
