DILLIAN WHYTE’S path to the WBC’s heavyweight belt and the winner of Saturday’s Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder clash has been opened.
Mauricio Sulaiman, the WBC president, told Boxing News that: “The WBC has reviewed the complete heavyweight situation and the winner of Saturday night will be allowed one month to try to secure the ultimate unification for the undisputed [crown with Oleksandr Usyk]. If that does not happen then the winner has to fight the mandatory, which is the interim champion. Dillian Whyte is fighting [Otto Wallin for it] on October 30 so we will see.”
It’s the green light Whyte has been waiting on for a long time. “Unfortunately for Dillian, he was knocked out by [Alexander] Povetkin when he was mandatory at that time. He lost by knockout. He had an issue with UKAD in the past. It’s been bad luck for him but he [might be] soon fighting for the title,” Sulaiman said. “We are very proud of our champions and the administration of the championships, it’s very important and we’re moving and we’re happy with what we got.”
Heavyweight boxing is inherently unpredictable. Wallin is no easy fight for Whyte, while Wilder, as long as he is in the bout, is going to pose a constant threat to Fury with his one-punch power. Frank Warren, who co-promotes Tyson, is confident though in his man. “He’s tremendously fit. Looks well, mentally well, so hopefully he’ll do the business. He’ll stop him… The only way he [Wilder] can win this fight is to go and jump on him. He ain’t going to outbox him, no matter what Malik Scott says. So if he goes to take the fight to [Fury], which I think he’ll do, if he does that – what [Anthony] Joshua didn’t do against Usyk – if he does that then you’re going to get a shootout. Somebody will go. And Tyson’s got the better chin,” Warren warned.
If Whyte and Fury come through their respective clashes, they would certainly make for an appealing all-British heavyweight showdown. “A big fight in the UK, Whyte’s perfect for Tyson. Perfect for him… Wherever it is, a fight’s a fight. There are some good fights to be made,” the promoter said. “There’s plenty of fights. Usyk’s a big fight, that’s a great fight. Two similar guys, great fight, I’d buy a ticket.”
The Fury-Wilder winner will have no shortage of options. In fact Warren urges Anthony Joshua to resist rematching Usyk and instead go straight into a bout with Fury. “[The WBC] may give us a month to try and make the fight with Usyk, that won’t happen because he’s got his rematch. If I was Joshua I wouldn’t go for the rematch,” Warren said. “I think he should still make the [Fury] fight. Walk away from the Usyk fight. If it’s up to him to call the fight, then I would say forget that. Make the fight with Tyson. People would buy into that still in the UK.
“[Joshua] wasn’t imposing himself on him. The bigger guy wasn’t using all his physical attributes. What he was doing was letting a littler guy dominate the fight behind his jab and a big fella like that, he should be keeping him on the end of his jab and he wasn’t. [Usyk] wasn’t even getting underneath him. He was outjabbing him. He was standing his ground with him without jabbing him. It didn’t make any sense.”
“Where was the devil in him? Where did he show any dominance in that fight?” Warren added of Joshua. “If he loses to Usyk again he’s finished. His bubble’s well and truly burst.”
Whyte is now one win away from the big fight he craves, Joshua one win away from redemption, Wilder one win away from revenge, while Fury might just be one win away from home. The heavyweight division today is many things but never dull.