DILLIAN WHYTEโS path to the WBCโs heavyweight belt and the winner of Saturdayโs Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder clash has been opened.
Mauricio Sulaiman, the WBC president, told Boxing News that: โThe WBC has reviewed the complete heavyweight situation and the winner of Saturday night will be allowed one month to try to secure the ultimate unification for the undisputed [crown with Oleksandr Usyk]. If that does not happen then the winner has to fight the mandatory, which is the interim champion. Dillian Whyte is fighting [Otto Wallin for it] on October 30 so we will see.โ
Itโs the green light Whyte has been waiting on for a long time. โUnfortunately for Dillian, he was knocked out by [Alexander] Povetkin when he was mandatory at that time. He lost by knockout. He had an issue with UKAD in the past. Itโs been bad luck for him but he [might be] soon fighting for the title,โ Sulaiman said. โWe are very proud of our champions and the administration of the championships, itโs very important and weโre moving and weโre happy with what we got.โ
Heavyweight boxing is inherently unpredictable. Wallin is no easy fight for Whyte, while Wilder, as long as he is in the bout, is going to pose a constant threat to Fury with his one-punch power. Frank Warren, who co-promotes Tyson, is confident though in his man. โHeโs tremendously fit. Looks well, mentally well, so hopefully heโll do the business. Heโll stop himโฆ The only way he [Wilder] can win this fight is to go and jump on him. He ainโt going to outbox him, no matter what Malik Scott says. So if he goes to take the fight to [Fury], which I think heโll do, if he does that – what [Anthony] Joshua didnโt do against Usyk – if he does that then youโre going to get a shootout. Somebody will go. And Tysonโs got the better chin,โ Warren warned.
If Whyte and Fury come through their respective clashes, they would certainly make for an appealing all-British heavyweight showdown. โA big fight in the UK, Whyteโs perfect for Tyson. Perfect for himโฆ Wherever it is, a fightโs a fight. There are some good fights to be made,โ the promoter said. โThereโs plenty of fights. Usykโs a big fight, thatโs a great fight. Two similar guys, great fight, Iโd buy a ticket.โ
The Fury-Wilder winner will have no shortage of options. In fact Warren urges Anthony Joshua to resist rematching Usyk and instead go straight into a bout with Fury. โ[The WBC] may give us a month to try and make the fight with Usyk, that wonโt happen because heโs got his rematch. If I was Joshua I wouldnโt go for the rematch,โ Warren said. โI think he should still make the [Fury] fight. Walk away from the Usyk fight. If itโs up to him to call the fight, then I would say forget that. Make the fight with Tyson. People would buy into that still in the UK.
โ[Joshua] wasnโt imposing himself on him. The bigger guy wasnโt using all his physical attributes. What he was doing was letting a littler guy dominate the fight behind his jab and a big fella like that, he should be keeping him on the end of his jab and he wasnโt. [Usyk] wasnโt even getting underneath him. He was outjabbing him. He was standing his ground with him without jabbing him. It didnโt make any sense.”
โWhere was the devil in him? Where did he show any dominance in that fight?โ Warren added of Joshua. โIf he loses to Usyk again heโs finished. His bubbleโs well and truly burst.”
Whyte is now one win away from the big fight he craves, Joshua one win away from redemption, Wilder one win away from revenge, while Fury might just be one win away from home. The heavyweight division today is many things but never dull.