Dillian Whyte is the mandatory challenger to Tyson Fury’s heavyweight title but he’ll have to wait at least a few fights to get his shot.
Dillian Whyte evidently will have to wait even longer for his shot.
The heavyweight contender was the mandatory challenger for Deontay Wilder’s WBC title when the Londoner was suspended after a positive drug test following his victory Oscar Rivas last July, which resulted in his suspension.
Whyte was cleared by U.K. officials in December but it was too late for him; the sanctioning body had already handed his mandatory position to Tyson Fury, who proceeded to stop Wilder and win the title in February.
Whyte, who is due a title challenge next February, called out Fury on Twitter. In response, Fury made clear he has no plans to fight Whyte anytime soon.
Fury said on Instagram: “Funny how everyone wants to fight during COVID-19 when there’s no sports events happening. Also, I have a contracted fight with Deontay Wilder first, then when I win that I’ll have the fight with Joshua.
“Undisputed comes before mandatory, happy hunting.”
Whyte first became the WBC’s mandatory challenge late in 2017 but has yet to fight for the title. He obviously intends to continue pushing for it.
He Tweeted to Fury: “Come on Tyson Fury, you stole my mandatory, fight me. Are you a king or a coward like Deontay Wilder? Let’s fight, I’m ready, let’s go.”
Tyson Fury reiterated that he wants to face Anthony Joshua but reminded everyone that they must win their interim fights first.
Tyson Fury assured fans they’ll see an all-British heavyweight showdown with Anthony Joshua – if Deontay Wilder and Kubrat Pulev cooperate.
Fury vs. Joshua is the biggest possible fight in boxing but it can happen only if Fury defeats Wilder in their third fight and Joshua beats Pulev. Promoters are planning to stage those two fights before the end of the year, assuming coronavirus restrictions allow it.
“If I get knocked out by Deontay Wilder, then it won’t be on, will it?” Fury told Sky Sports. “It will be another fight with Wilder and so forth and so on. If he loses to Pulev, so close, but so far away. In heavyweight boxing, you can never count your chickens before they hatch, so one fight at a time, one victory at a time.
“All going well, God-willing, we get on the big fight with me and Joshua, the all-British showdown and I can give the fans what they want to see, especially the British fans. It will be the biggest fight since I believe Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno. It was a while ago, Cardiff Arms Park.”
Joshua has made it clear that he also wants to fight Fury. Joshua holds three of the four major belts, Fury the fourth.
“Yes, come fight me,” Joshua said. “If you really want to say you’re No 1, come fight me. Let’s get it on. I’ve got the rest of the belts so it only makes sense. I’m the unified heavyweight champion of the world, he’s the WBC champion. What it will prove, me and him fighting? There will be one dominant figure in the heavyweight division that will have all of the belts and become undisputed.
“Logically to prove yourself as No 1, I have to fight Tyson Fury. He has to fight Anthony Joshua.”
Eddie Hearn wants Deontay Wilder to be out of the picture when his fighter, Anthony Joshua, negotiates to fight Tyson Fury.
Eddie Hearn wants Deontay Wilder completely out of the picture when he sits down for negotiations for a fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
Wilder was rumored to have been offered $10 million to step aside as Fury’s next opponent so “The Gypsy King” could go directly into an all-British showdown with Joshua, assuming Kubrat Pulev, Joshua’s scheduled opponent, also agreed to a deal.
That notion was dismissed by Bob Arum, Fury’s co-promoter. The step-aside offer is fiction, he said. And Hearn wouldn’t want it anyway. Presumably, had Wilder agreed to step aside, he would’ve demanded the right to face the winner of Fury-Joshua.
Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, has a two-fight series between Fury and his client in mind.
“I think Bob Arum said in an interview … he doesn’t know where this number [of $10 million] has come from,” Hearn told IFL TV. “[Wilder has] said in interviews he won’t step aside. And with everything happening in terms of the uncertainty over the future of the world, let alone boxing, he’s not going to want to step aside.
“We also don’t want to enter into a deal where we say, ‘Oh, when we beat Tyson Fury, we have to face Deontay Wilder and he has to get 40%.’ Deontay Wilder is out. He’s done. He’s just a voluntary challenger. We want a clean slate when we enter into a deal, whether it’s a one-fight deal with Tyson or a two-fight deal. But when AJ beats Tyson Fury, we don’t want an obligation to fight Deontay Wilder. What’s he got to do with it?
“He’s done. He’s beaten. He’s just been knocked out. If he beats Tyson Fury, then we want to fight Deontay Wilder. But if he doesn’t, he’s just back into the rankings. He’s not coming into a fight with the undisputed champion. So in that respect it’s a lot easier for us just to have a clean slate, and everybody is on the same page with that as well.”
Fury knocked out Wilder in seven rounds in February, after which Wilder exercised a clause in their contract that allowed for a third fight between them. They are expected to meet again before the end of the year, as are Joshua and Pulev.
Heavyweight champ Tyson Fury says he’s motivated to stay in boxing because it’s good for his mental health.
Tyson Fury said he doesn’t fight for glory or shiny title belts any longer. He’s already a two-time heavyweight champion and the most-accomplished active big man in boxing. And he doesn’t fight for money. He has plenty of that.
The reason he plans to stick around for a while? Peace of mind.
The 31-year-old from Manchester, who has struggled with depression, told Sky Sports that boxing keeps his head on straight.
“I’ve achieved more than any active heavyweight alive today,” he said. “No-one can come close to what I’ve achieved. I’m happy with where I am in my career and what I’m doing. If I never have another boxing fight, I’ll be happy. I’ve completed the game.
“I’ve won every single belt in boxing. From the English title to becoming the undisputed heavyweight champ of the world. All done, all finished. Considered the best, done. If I don’t box again, I’m happy, but if I do box again, then I continue to box.
“If we get past this thing (coronavirus), which hopefully we will, then we’re going to keep boxing and just keep taking on contenders. Klitschko did it until he was 40. A lot of the great champions are continuing and continuing.
“I ain’t boxing for money, I ain’t boxing for fame, I ain’t boxing for a belt. I’m boxing because it keeps me mentally happy and I like to do it. Nothing to prove to anybody. Not one thing to prove at all, but I box now, because I love boxing and I’ve been doing it all my life.
“Why walk away when I’m still only young? Hopefully I box until I have a good sit down with all the team and we all decide it’s time to walk away, while I’m on top, and then sail away into the sunset. And then who knows what will happen after that.”
Tyson Fury’s knockout of Deontay Wilder (left) in February made him the top big man in the world. John Gurzinski / AFP via Getty Images
What does the immediate future hold?
Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) is coming off a sensational seventh-round knockout in his rematch with Deontay Wilder, which earned him a heavyweight title. Wilder, who drew with Fury in their first fight, exercised a clause in their contract which allowed for a third fight. They’re expected to meet again before the end of the year.
After that, the only opponent who makes sense is Anthony Joshua, who holds the three other major belts. That’s assuming Joshua beats mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev in his next fight. Fury and Joshua could fill up any stadium in what would be an enormous event in the U.K. Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, believes they’ll do it at least twice.
And in spite of Fury’s success, which includes a one-sided decision that ended Wladimir Klitschko’s long reign in 2015, he won’t be surprised if more doubters emerge along the way.
“They said I’d never do it, they said I would never have the dedication,” said Fury. “Then they wrote me off because I wasn’t body beautiful like everybody else. Then they wrote me off because the heavyweight champion of the world was Wladimir Klitschko. I had to go to Germany. That was a write-off. And then they wrote me off because I went to 28 stone (392 pounds) and had mental health problems, but that couldn’t keep me down.
“Then they wrote me off because I had to fight the biggest puncher in the history of boxing after only two, petty comeback fights, but that didn’t keep me down.
“Then they wrote me off, because I’m all washed up and I can’t take a punch anymore. And then they wrote me off because I got a massive cut [in a victory over Otto Wallin]. Then they wrote me off because I had 10 changes of trainers.
“Then they wrote me off because Wilder was going to be better the second time around. And then they wrote me off because they said they didn’t believe in what I was going to do, and I’m a feather-duster puncher, and I can’t crack an egg, and I’m useless.
“But here I am today, stand-alone heavyweight, leading superstar in boxing. I’m still fat, still ugly, still bald, still a big man, and I’m still unstoppable.”
Bob Arum said that Deontay Wilder wasn’t offered $10 million to step aside so Tyson Fury could go directly into a fight with Anthony Joshua.
One lingering rumor says that Deontay Wilder was offered $10 million to step aside as Tyson Fury’s next opponent so Fury could go directly into a fight with Anthony Joshua.
Not so, promoter Bob Arum told Ringside Reporter.
“Directly the contrary,” said Arum, who co-promotes Fury. “The Wilder people, when they saw these stories, made it known to us and MTK that Wilder was not amendable to step aside, that he wanted to fight Fury again and gain revenge. So these stories about step-aside were fantasies.”
Fury stopped Wilder in February, after which Wilder exercised a clause in their contract that allowed for a third fight between them. It was set for July 18 but later postponed because of the coronavirus threat.
Wilder also said on The PBC Podcast that he injured his biceps in the Fury fight and needed surgery. However, Arum said he was told by Wilder’s handlers that he could fight Fury as soon as October.
“I’ve been informed by the Wilder people that the original October date was acceptable and he could make a fight as early as that date,” Arum said. “So certainly November, December would be a no-brainer.”
Joshua’s scheduled next opponent, Kubrat Pulev, also indicated that he is unwilling to step aside.
Heavyweight champ Tyson Fury expects to fight Deontay Wilder a third time and Anthony Joshua twice in his next three fights.
Tyson Fury seems to have a schedule in place through next year.
The heavyweight champ said on Instagram Live that he will fight Deontay Wilder a third time next and then have two fights with fellow titleholder Anthony Joshua, which should take him into 2022.
The date of the Wilder fight, originally targeted for July 18, remains uncertain because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’ve got the rematch with Wilder on at some point … then we’ve got the two AJ fights,” Fury said. “Well, one, and then obviously when I batter him, he’ll want a rematch.”
The handlers of Fury and Joshua reportedly have discussed the possibility of paying Wilder and Kubrat Pulev, Joshua’s scheduled opponent, to step aside so Fury and Joshua can go directly into their all-British showdown but neither Wilder nor Pulev is willing to cooperate.
Fury said he wants the third fight with Wilder anyway.
“I’ll beat him in the ring, and that’s how I’ll get him out the way,” Fury said. “I wouldn’t pay him $2 million to step aside. I’d rather give him another battering again. I’m going to take him out again for a third time, hopefully end of the year, and then we’re going to go into 2021 for the biggest fight in boxing history between two undefeated British heavyweights – me and AJ.”
Joshua isn’t undefeated – he was stopped by Andy Ruiz Jr. before winning a rematch last year – but everyone knows the magnitude of a Fury-Joshua matchup or two.
“It would probably be a two-fight deal,” Joshua promoter Eddie Hearn told Sky Sports. “Any deal between Fury and AJ, you run it twice.”
And assuming Fury gets past Wilder and two fights with Joshua?
“There’s plenty of fighters out there for me to beat up on,” Fury said. “You got Dillian Whyte, Jarrell Miller, you got Pulev, you got Ruiz, you got [Luis] Ortiz, you got [Daniel] Dubois, you got [Joe] Joyce. There’s loads.”
Former heavyweight champ George Foreman recently said that he can’t see Anthony Joshua beating Tyson Fury in an all-British showdown. Is Foreman underestimating Joshua? The knock against Joshua is his brutal knockout loss against Andy Ruiz Jr., …
Former heavyweight champ George Foreman recently said that he can’t see Anthony Joshua beating Tyson Fury in an all-British showdown.
Is Foreman underestimating Joshua?
The knock against Joshua is his brutal knockout loss against Andy Ruiz Jr., after which Joshua’s mental toughness was questioned. However, Joshua turned the table in the rematch, winning a wide decision to regain the belts he had lost.
Joshua is scheduled to defend his titles against Kubrat Pulev, although the date is uncertain.
Fury, meanwhile, is coming off a sensational knockout of Deontay Wilder in their rematch to emerge at the No. 1 heavyweight in the world in terms of public perception. They are expected to fight a third time.
In this episode of Jabs with Mannix and Mora, DAZN commentators Chris Mannix and Sergio Mora discuss Joshua’s chances against Fury.
DAZN announced Monday that it is increasing its global presence to 200 countries this year…
DAZN, the so-called Netflix of sports, is doubling down on its global footprint. And boxing will be the focus.
The subscription streaming app announced Monday that it will expand its English-language service centered on boxing to 200 countries and territories from the nine in which it currently operates.
The inaugural event in the rollout will feature Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez in his annual Cinco de Mayo Weekend appearance on May 2. Alvarez’s opponent has not been confirmed, but 168-pound titleholder Billy Joe Saunders appears to be the front runner.
“Beginning this spring, most of the world will have access to DAZN and its unmatched schedule of boxing events,” said DAZN’s Executive Chairman John Skipper. “Our roster of championship fighters represents some of the world’s most popular athletes, and we’ll be working with them to stage spectacular international events for years to come.”
The global service will include DAZN’s growing archive of classic fights, many of which feature top names like Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather. New subscribers will also gain access to DAZN’s original shoulder programming, like the Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg-produced “40 Days,“ a documentary series that takes a look at fighters’ training regime, and the Sylvester Stallone-produced “One Night,” which chronicles the sport’s most historic fights.
DAZN, which is backed by billionaire Len Blavatnik, first launched in 2016 in Japan, Germany, Austria and Switzerland with a focus on international soccer. Two years later it entered the United States behind a lucrative 8-year, billon-dollar partnership with British promoter Eddie Hearn in a bold attempt to corner the boxing market. It has not been shy about its ambitions, paying top dollar to retain exclusive rights to some of the best fighters in the world, including Gennadiy Golovkin, Anthony Joshua and Alvarez, whom it signed to a five-year, $365 million deal in 2018.
“Since our launch in 2016, we’ve seen an encouraging level of interest around our key events from both international fans and potential partners, which highlighted the opportunity to capitalize on our existing rights portfolio within boxing to fuel our expansion,” said DAZN Executive Vice President Joseph Markowski, who will oversee the global service. “Establishing DAZN as the global home of fight sports is just the first step, and we couldn’t think of a better attraction for our inaugural event than Canelo’s traditional Cinco de Mayo Weekend fight.”
DAZN’s global plans will have particularly dramatic ramifications for the boxing landscape in the U.K., where the company is headquartered but has never operated. Heavyweight stars Tyson Fury and Joshua have exclusive deals with traditional networks BT Sport and Sky Sport, respectively.
According to the DailyMail, DAZN is planning to charge a £4.99 ($6.39) monthly subscription in the U.K. and aims to bid heavily for the rights to stream the third match between Fury and Deontay Wilder tentatively scheduled for July in Las Vegas.
Eddie Hearn believes it will be easier to make a Joshua-Fury fight, rather than a Joshua-Wilder fight, he said in a recent interview.
Eddie Hearn believes a fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will be much easier to make than a fight between Joshua and Deontay Wilder.
Wilder and Fury are scheduled to face each other in a pay-per-view rematch on Feb. 22. Whatever the outcome, a trilogy is reportedly in the works for the summer. That could leave Joshua as the odd man out. Joshua, who recently reclaimed his three heavyweight titles from Andy Ruiz on Dec. 7 in Saudi Arabia, has mandatory defenses against Kubrat Pulev and Oleksandr Usyk. It appears he’ll face Pulev first.
In any event, a showdown between Joshua and either Wilder or Fuy is not likely to happen in 2020, Hearn explained on a recent episode of the Chris Mannix Boxing Podcast.
“It may just be Pulev and Usyk for us (in 2020),” Hearn said. “… With Joshua losing against Ruiz, it was all over. Now it’s back on, and it’s bigger than ever. But how long do you want to wait. How greedy do you want to be?”
Hearn continued: “As Anthony said the other night, I think if Fury wins, that fight happens just like that, with Joshua. If Wilder wins, it’s a little bit more complicated. Few more egos, a bit more politics.”
Attempts to make a Joshua-Wilder fight last spring culminated with DAZN, the sports streaming company that holds rights to Joshua and Hearn’s Matchroom stable, offering Wilder a reported nine-figure multi-fight deal. Wilder, along with managers Al Haymon and Shelly Finkel, met with DAZN CEO John Skipper in March. Wilder ended up declining the offer.
“The difference is, with Fury, he will make things happen personally,” Hearn said. “If Fury wants that fight, he will find a way to make it happen, with him and MTK. [Fury’s promoter Frank] Warren don’t got any involvement with Fury anymore, a little bit on the U.K. side. Obviously Top Rank do and MTK is driving it, but fury is like his own man. He’s his own boss. He’ll just tell them. They’ll fall out, but Fury’s not afraid of that.”
“Whereas I feel like Wilder is being told what to do. That’s the difference. AJ is his own boss as well. If AJ turns around to me and says I want that fight, we have to go and make it, and if we don’t make it, we haven’t done our job.”
