IT’S all gone very quiet on the Dillian Whyte front but that might not necessarily be a bad thing.
As fans still wait for answers and solicitors’ letters get tossed around like confetti, all should be revealed in due course, we are told – one way or another. In fact, Eddie Hearn, Whyte’s promoter, isn’t just hopeful of his man being cleared of any wrongdoing but fully expects him to be appearing in a British ring before the year is out.
If true, it would mark quite the turnaround for a heavyweight whose post-fight celebration after beating Oscar Rivas on July 20 has been muted to say the least.
“December, possibly,” Hearn told The Sportsman when asked to predict a Whyte return. “He’s still got to come out with a clear statement with UKAD and show everybody why he was cleared and why he should be allowed to box again. That’s important for his career.
“They’ve got to get that right, because that’s ultra-important, but I see him boxing in December.”
For so many reasons let’s hope this is true. Let’s hope Dillian Whyte is a free man and cleared to box and, better yet, let’s hope those currently wearing gags are then free to speak and explain what happened five weeks ago in London. It’s not just needed, it’s essential at this point.
Legendary US promoter Bob Arum doesn’t have many good things to say about rival promoter Eddie Hearn, his perceived upstart from the UK, and hasn’t exactly been complimentary about the way he has handled the world heavyweight title rematch between Andy Ruiz Jnr and Anthony Joshua, set for December 7 in Saudi Arabia.
Whether fairly or unfairly, he has criticised Hearn for the way it was announced, he has criticised Hearn for the location of the fight, and he has now criticised Hearn – or perhaps Joshua – for giving the go-ahead to a rematch he doesn’t believe should be happening immediately.
“It’ll be a Ruiz repeat,” Arum told The Sportsman. “From a boxing perspective I thought it was silly for Joshua to go right back into a rematch. It’s going to be the same result. Ruiz is a fighter that’s going to find Joshua’s vulnerabilities.
“Joshua’s a straight up fighter who doesn’t like the pressure. Ruiz takes a great shot, has very fast hands and I think the second fight ends like the first one.”
It’s certainly high stakes stuff, the biggest gamble of Joshua’s career to date. Yet, until it is proven to be the wrong move, Joshua should probably receive praise rather than criticism for looking to right the wrong against someone who, knockdown aside, appeared all wrong for him on June 1 at Madison Square Garden.
