Hearn Still Hopes Fury vs. Whyte Will Come Off in Early 2022

Eddie Hearn, promoter for heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte, expects WBC world champion Tyson Fury to return to the ring in the month of March.

And, Hearn is crossing his fingers that Fury will select Whyte as his opponent.

“I don’t believe he fights in February. Because he’s coming off a bit of man flu, as he says, and we’re [in] December next week. I think realistically March and hopefully, it’ll be Dillian Whyte,” Hearn told IFL TV.

Fury was in action last month, when he overcame two knockdowns to score a dramatic knockout of Deontay Wilder in the eleventh round of their trilogy fight. 

Earlier this month, it was believed that the World Boxing Council would solidify Whyte as the mandatory challenger to Fury.

However, that didn’t happen as Whyte is currently engaged in a legal battle with the sanctioning body.

“That’s why he’s done it. Because if he left it to the WBC, which he has done, he wasn’t able to get what he deserves, in his opinion. So that’s why he’s gone down this route. And when this ruling is made, it’ll be a lot more solid and clear and, yeah, favorable as well, we expect. So that’s the reason behind the process. It’s just a timing issue and hopefully, there’s a ruling on that in due course,” Hearn said.

Fury is personally not concerned with Whyte’s ongoing legal issues.

He aims to fight in the first quarter of 2022 – with or without Whyte in the opposite corner.

“I thought I was going to be fighting Dillian Whyte but I don’t know what he has going on in his private life with the WBC. He has a court case going on and it’s kind of sh!t because I know how long arbitrations can take because my own one with Deontay Wilder took 18 months,” Fury told IFL TV.

“I hope he does not get caught in the long grass and I hope I don’t get forced into another fight like a voluntary defense. But I don’t care because they are all just work-outs for me, I will destroy them all like I have done all my life. It does not matter if it is Dillian Whyte, Dillian Blue or Dillian Grey. I am not interested in waiting around for other people, I will be fighting again in February, early March latest, defending my WBC heavyweight world title.”