DILLIAN Whyteโs simmering anger will work in one of two ways. He will either use it as fuel to put on a career-best performance against Colombian Oscar Rivas on July 20 in London, or he will let it get the better of him and leave himself open to being on the receiving end of a shock defeat.
Whichever way it goes, make no mistake: Whyte is angry. He is angry about not beating Anthony Joshua before Andy Ruiz Jnr did the job on his behalf, he is angry about not landing a WBC world heavyweight title shot against Deontay Wilder, and he is angry about having to risk it all in a potential banana skin fight against Rivas in a couple of weeks.
Thereโs more, too. Dillian Whyte is angry with the WBO for installing Oleksandr Usyk, a former WBO cruiserweight champion yet to even fight as a heavyweight, as their mandatory challenger for Ruizโs WBO crown.
โI canโt get over the fact the WBO have made Oleksandr Usyk mandatory challenger for their heavyweight title,โ he told TalkSport. โItโs a joke, pure and simple. I get that he was the undisputed cruiserweight champion, but at least let the man have a fight at heavyweight first. You canโt just hand it to him. But this is boxing, itโs full of nonsense. If you let yourself get bogged down in the politics and the hype then this sport will make you lose your mind.
โUsyk is supposedly injured now and he didnโt even apply for the mandatory position until after Anthony Joshua lost to Andy Ruiz Jr. These guys want to pick and choose. Heโs looking at Ruiz Jnr and thinking, โI can beat him,โ but he wasnโt saying that when Joshua was champion, was he?โ
Itโs not just Usykโs arrival that has irked Whyte, 25-1 (18), in recent weeks. The emergence of Tyson Fury at number two in the WBO rankings has served to not only confuse Whyte but relegate him to number three. Safe to say, he isnโt best pleased with that, either.
โThey have just parachuted a novice heavyweight into the number one spot before heโs even had a fight and added further insult to injury by slotting Fury in above me for beating Tom Schwarz. Itโs beyond a f***ing joke,โ Whyte said.
โFury hasnโt beaten anyone of note since returning from his steroid ban. Sefer Seferi, Francesco Pianeta and Tom Schwarz are all nobodies.
โWouldnโt it be funny if the WBO title gets vacated and they call Usyk against Fury for the belt? Just watch Fury run like he did from me when the WBC ordered him to fight me for the diamond belt at his request. โGypsy Kingโ, my a**e. Run Gypsy Coward, run!โ
Whyte has done plenty of shouting and screaming of late, some of it understandable, most of it futile. One only hopes he has left his best stuff for July 20 against Oscar Rivas. Because, chances are, he will need it.
Though just 20 years of age, Devin Haney, arguably the hottest prospect in America, isnโt afraid to say whatโs on his mind, nor does he seem keen on taking his time.
The lightweight prospect, known as โThe Dreamโ, was last seen stopping Antonio Moran inside seven rounds to retain and collect a glut of ultimately meaningless international titles but is targeting bigger and better things this year and next.
His next fight, in fact, could be against Zaur Abdullaev, mooted for September, and that, a match against a fellow ambitious up-and-comer, would be just the ticket. Abdullaev, 11-0 (7), a Russian with a WBC silver lightweight title, has some hype of his own, presumably dreams of his own, and therefore the clash, even at this early stage, makes complete sense.
โNothing is guaranteed as of now, but that’s what weโre negotiating right now,โ Haney, 22-0 (14), told BoxingTalk. โI look forward to that happening, but nothing is done yet.
โI actually watched a lot on him because I thought I was going to be fighting him before Antonio Moran. I did a lot of studying on him.โ
Another man with whom Haney is familiar is Gervonta โTankโ Davis, the WBA super-featherweight champion from Baltimore, Maryland. Davis, himself a future star of US boxing, is still only 24 years of age yet is a rung or two further up the ladder than Haney at this point โ not that Haney seems to care.
โTell โTankโ Davis to come on up to 135 and let’s make something big happen next,โ he said. โIโm willing to bet $1 million on myself. Is he? Put your money up! I donโt know how much heโs going to make on his next fight, but Iโll put $1 million on myself that he canโt do nothing with me.โ
There has been a dearth of quality, young American boxing talent in recent times. However, in the shape of Haney and Davis, as well as champions like Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jnr, there appears to be a turning of the tide. A most welcome one.