Word dropped this morning that heavyweight Dillian Whyte is out of his scheduled bout against Otto Wallin on Oct. 30, just as Wallin was set to fly to England to get acclimated for the clash.
Wallin promoter Dmitry Salita spoke to Bad Left Hook this morning about the development.
“Sounds like Whyte is injured,” he said flatly. Being a master interpreter of linguistic tells, I picked up on his vibe. “Sounds like” is very different than “Whyte is injured.”
And if you say Salita is cynical, or media too prone to skepticism, I’d counter that your cynicism is earned and justified if you spend a decade or more in the mix of world class boxing. There are quotes from Whyte now being dug up and shared, in which he talks about his options, which include staying sidelined and waiting for a fight against Tyson Fury in the first half of 2022.
“I could pull out of the Wallin fight,” Whyte had previously said. “I can’t wait around for what Fury is doing.”
Now he can, or must, if that shoulder really and truly is injured to the degree that he couldn’t keep his date with Wallin. I did ask Salita if Wallin might stay on that Oct. 30 card, which has yet to be officially postponed or outright canceled. Maybe against a foe who could still validate a main event spot?
“I don’t know yet,” Salita admitted. “I do not have confirmation that the fight is off. If it is, the WBC should reschedule the bout and not allow Whyte to go straight to Fury, if that is the current preferred play by Whyte.”