Boxing News at Five: White calls out UFC stars Miocic and Ngannou, Fury vs. Wilder III gets new October 3 date

Dillian Whyte

BOXERS calling out mixed martial artists, and vice versa, has always smacked of desperation but never more so than during a worldwide pandemic.

With a whole host of fighters itching for a fight, any fight, and more importantly a payday, it should come as no surprise that Dillian Whyte, the heavyweight boxer with a May 2 boxing match likely to get cancelled, is eyeing up future fights against a couple of UFC [Ultimate Fighting Championship] heavyweights.

In a video interview posted on his YouTube channel, Whyte, who has a kickboxing background, called out current UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, then proceeded to label top contender Francis Ngannou a โ€œcowardโ€.

โ€œIโ€™ll fight Stipe Miocic,โ€ said Whyte, who is somehow still scheduled to fight Alexander Povetkin in a 16,000-seater arena on May 2. โ€œIโ€™ll kick him in the face. Iโ€™ll give Stipe one of these [elbows]. All Iโ€™ve got to do with Stipe is just keep him moving. Heโ€™ll just try take me down, he might go to sleep before I go down though.

โ€œYeah, Iโ€™ll fight UFC. Iโ€™ll do one boxing fight, one UFC. One boxing fight, one MMA fight, tell Dana White to hit me up.

โ€œIโ€™ll fight Francis Ngannou. I would lick him down. He ainโ€™t go not chin, heโ€™s a coward, bro. I would knock out Francis Ngannou, trust me. All he can do is try and take me down, thatโ€™s it.

โ€œOne boxing fight, one MMA fight. If you want MMA first, letโ€™s go. Boxing first, letโ€™s go. Even Muay Thai, fight me in kickboxing โ€“ three-fight deal, tell Dana White.โ€

No. Please donโ€™t.

dillian whyte

We knew it was no longer happening on July 18, and we knew Bob Arum, the fightโ€™s promoter, wanted it in October, but now, according to Mike Coppinger of The Athletic, a third fight between heavyweights Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder will take place on October 3 in Las Vegas.

Or at least thatโ€™s the plan โ€“ the latest one. But if thereโ€™s one thing risky to do โ€“ admittedly, not the riskiest thing to do โ€“ during the coronavirus pandemic it is making plans and expecting anything other than scepticism.

boxing: wilder vs fury ii
Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports

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