IN the not-too-distant past the WBC was paving the way for Deontay Wilder, their heavyweight champion, to rematch Tyson Fury. They were therefore sanctioning Dillian Whyte vs Dominic Breazeale for an Interim title, to create an “absolute” mandatory they told Boxing News.
But now Tyson Fury, with the backing of new US broadcaster ESPN, has said he wants another fight before rematching Wilder, the WBC have changed their directives. Now they are ordering Wilder to fight Breazeale, according to them his mandatory challenger, even though they rank Whyte as the number one contender in their ratings.
The WBC’s efforts to allow Wilder to continue negotiations for a unification last year with Anthony Joshua and then permit Wilder to fight Fury and discuss a rematch has essentially created a long wait for his mandatory challenger. Meanwhile Whyte, fighting for a Silver title, has risen up the rankings, leaving the heavyweights in this messy situation. Whyte can surely feel aggrieved that his world title shot is long overdue.
However the WBC have ruled that Breazeale will get in ahead of him. They said in a statement, “WBC world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder shall fulfill his mandatory obligations by fighting Dominic Breazeale next. This order constitutes the start of the free negotiations period for champion Wilder’s mandatory defence of his title. If no agreement is reached between the camps, the WBC shall conduct a purse offer ceremony on April 4.”
