Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte finally appears to be a done deal.
Whyte has signed a contract to challenge the WBC heavyweight titleholder on April 23, probably at Wembley Stadium in London, according to multiple reports.
An official announcement could come as soon as Wednesday.
“Dillian Whyte signed his contract for $8m, what a surprise,” Fury said on social media. … The man’s signed for the biggest payday he’s going to get in his life.”
about to go on total blackout
until after the fight april 23 2022.
there may be update vids but won’t be from me. God bless you. pic.twitter.com/WlfduiMfnY— TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) February 22, 2022
Whyte, Fury’s mandatory challenger, reportedly had been pushing to receive more than 20% of the purse but had to settle for that figure in the end. Fury will be guaranteed around $27 million, Whyte $7.6 million.
Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs) is coming off an 11th-round knockout of rival Deontay Wilder in their third fight this past October.
The native of Manchester, England last fought in the United Kingdom in August 2018, when he outpointed Francesco Pianeta in Belfast, Northern Ireland. His last five fights have taken place in the U.S.
Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) last fought in March of last year, when he avenged a knockout loss to Alexander Povetkin by stopping the Russian in four rounds.
The Londoner’s only other loss came by knockout against Anthony Joshua in 2015.
Fury made it clear on social media that he’s taking this fight seriously.
“I’m about to go off social media completely for the next eight and a half weeks,” he said. “I’m going into training camp to give Dillian Whyte all the respect in the world he needs. … I’ll never underestimate anyone in my life.
“… Please don’t phone me, call me, email me, text me or try to contact me in any way as I am out of bounds until May.”