DILLIAN WHYTE will appear on the Anthony Joshua vs Dominic Breazeale undercard at the O2 Arena on June 25.
Super-lightweight prospect Conor Benn will also fight on the bill and former British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion David Price could be in a title fight on the card.
Promoter Eddie Hearn is working on making another ‘big’ fight alongside chief-support George Groves vs Martin Murray, and has high hopes for the show as a whole.
“Dillian Whyte will be on there, Conor Benn and I want David Price in a title fight on there as well,” he told Boxing News.
“Callum Smith might be on the bill, we’ll wait and see what happens with the unification situation between [James] DeGale and [Badou] Jack.
“With the last Joshua card [on April 9], there was a huge amount of money spent on the opponent in Charles Martin. This time, it’s still a lot but not as much so we’ve got more to spend on the undercard.
“Groves-Murray is a very expensive fight, it’s a fight that can fill the O2 on its own. It’s a great chief-support but I think we need one other big name and big fight.
“We’re looking for this to be a much bigger show than April 9.”
Groves’ fight with Murray will serve as a final eliminator for the WBA secondary world super-middleweight title, currently held by Giovanni De Carolis. Felix Sturm holds the full version, though it recently emerged he tested positive for a banned substance after his title win, so he may be stripped, meaning De Carolis may inherit his belt.
Whyte hasn’t fought since his entertaining seventh round knockout loss to Joshua last December due to a shoulder injury.
Hearn has taken some stick from fans over the announcement of Breazeale as Joshua’s first defence. The 2012 Olympian hit the deck in his last fight before winning in bizarre and fortunate circumstances against Amir Mansour, and also received a controversial decision against Fred Kassi before that.
The fight will open Joshua’s long-term deal with American broadcaster Showtime, who OK’d Breazeale as an opponent.
“The mentality is a little different in America. In America, they love this fight whereas in Britain it’s ‘when’s he going to fight Tyson Fury?’ Hearn said.
“I understand both sides of the coin. When you look at the IBF rankings and the four guys we had, Andy Ruiz, Johann Duhaupas, Eric Molina and Breazeale, Molina was the only other one that made sense. Duhaupas is a decent fighter but Showtime have never heard of him.
“If we went for Molina, which we nearly did, he’s been knocked out in a round by [Chris] Arreola.
“Breazeale’s got pedigree, talks well, looks the part and he’s going to throw whereas Charles Martin was a counter-punching southpaw.”
