By Scott Gilfoid: Dillian Whyte will not be attending today’s open workout ahead of his title fight on Saturday night against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury at Wembley Stadium in London, England.
No reason was given for Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) not choosing to attend the open workout, but Adam Smith of Sky Sports believes he’ll be there tomorrow for the press conference with Fury.
Whyte not taking part in the open workout will arguably create even greater interest in Saturday’s fight between him and the 6’9″ Tyson. With all the angry boxing fans blabbering about Whyte not taking part in the open workout, more people are going to want to see it.
Even if Whyte chooses not to show for the final press conference, as long as he’s there for the weigh-in on Friday, we’ll see a fight on Saturday.
Obviously, Whyte isn’t going to bail on this opportunity to dethrone Fury because he’s got an excellent chance of winning. Whyte already made it clear by saying, “This isn’t the Tyson Fury Show.” In other words, the talented Whyte isn’t going to dance to Fury’s tune.
If Whyte captures Fury’s WBC title, he can make oodles of dough fighting the Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk II winner later this year.
“He’s been a no-show throughout the build-up, and he wasn’t happy with the contractual situation. He didn’t come to the first press conference in Wembley, and Tyson kind of did it on his own,” said Adam Smith to Sky Sports Boxing about Dillian Whyte not attending today’s open workout for Saturday’s fight with Tyson Fury.
“I know Dillian really well and his team, and he’s been training furiously hard, locked up, holed up,” Smith continued. “In the many fights we’ve had with him on Sky, he tends to come in on a Tuesday.
“He’ll be arriving today and getting the jet in. I’m sure he’ll be there for the press conference tomorrow where they’ll come face-to-face for the first time. It’s bizarre, really,” Smith said of the strangeness of not having had one meeting between Fury and Whyte during the entire promotion for their April 23rd fight.
“Not at all. Tyson is his own man and Dillian is his own man,” said Adam when asked if Fury will be ‘bothered’ by Whyte not showing up for today’s workout.
“It’s part of the subplot, isn’t it?” said Smith. “We’ll have a bit of intrigue on the build-up to a huge fight, which this is. Dillian has added that, and Tyson will go on and perform today in front of his fans. I’m sure he’ll look very sharp.
“He’s [Whyte] ready. It’s his golden opportunity, he’s waited a thousand days for it, and he deserves his chance,” said Adam.
