WBC interim heavyweight champion Dillian Whyte still intends to return to the United States in his next bout, and Eddie Hearn tells Michael Benson that it will “most likely” take place September 11th. The show “may” also feature Hiroto Kyoguchi vs. Elwin Soto and Murodjon Akhmadaliev vs. Ronny Rios, which were previously slated to land on an August 28th Los Angeles card.
Hearn also states that he wants to keep “The Body Snatcher” busy with a December fight as well.
For fans’ sake (and Hearn’s own), he’d best schedule it for the afternoon to accommodate British viewers. Showtime’s got an excellent super bantamweight doubleheader in Brandon Figueroa vs. Stephen Fulton and Ra’eese Aleem vs. Daniel Roman that night, while Triller’s offering Oscar De La Hoya’s comeback fight against former UFC champion Vitor Belfort.
There’s also Sunny Edwards vs. Jayson Mama on BT Sport that afternoon, but I don’t think Hearn cares particularly much about stepping on Frank Warren’s toes.
As far as who Whyte (28-2, 19 KO) will actually fight, Jermaine Franklin remains the frontrunner. There were rumblings earlier this month that Whyte was in talks with Andy Ruiz Jr., but Ruiz’s attorney went on to deny that claim. It’s a crap fight, but considering what happened the last time he stuck his neck out while waiting for the WBC to finally give him his shot, it’s not unexpected.