Tyson Fury will not be fighting Dillian Whyte any time soon and is concentrating instead on sealing a massive showdown with Anthony Joshua, according to Frank Warren.
Fury has been told by the World Boxing Council that he must face its mandatory contender Whyte if ‘The Body Snatcher’ overcomes Alexander Povetkin on Saturday night (August 22) and Fury defeats Deontay Wilder in their trilogy match (tentatively set for December 19).
But his co-promoter Warren says ‘The Gypsy King’ will not be dictated to be sanctioning bodies, and that a Fury vs Joshua showdown is the fight the whole of Britain wants to see.
He told The Mirror: “Tyson ain’t fighting Dillian Whyte. That ain’t going to happen this year and next year it ain’t going to happen because he only wants to fight Anthony Joshua.
“Let’s all be honest, if you were down the pub and you asked people ‘what do you want, would you rather see Tyson fight Dillian Whyte or do you want to see him fight AJ? It’s a no-brainer, so let’s get that on.”
Warren re-iterated that he will not allow boxing’s complicated politics to derail the possibility of Fury vs Joshua taking place in 2021.
“Tyson Fury is not beholden onto Whyte. Tyson Fury is probably the biggest star in boxing at the moment and he will make his choices,” he explained.
“Tyson against Joshua has to happen and I don’t want it getting ruined by any other c**p from Dillian. Of course Dillian wants his fight and he will get it, but that is like a pimple on a rhinoceros’ a**e compared to seeing this fight.”
Whyte has been mandatory for the WBC for more than 1000 days now – but Warren say he must wait yet longer for his chance, and says there are other fights out there in the meantime. Notably a pay-per-view showdown with his own up-and-coming star Daniel Dubois (14-0 with 13 inside distance).
“Dillian will get his chance, just not now, and whilst he is waiting for his opportunity, a massive fight, a big fight even if there was no crowd there and we could do it on pay-per-view, would be Daniel Dubois,” said Warren.
“That would be a great fight that people would want to see. Then the winner could fight Tyson.”
Whyte’s showdown with Povetkin on Saturday – behind closed doors at Matchroom Fight Camp in Brentwood, Essex – is for Whyte’s WBC interim title and the WBC Diamond Belt. It will be aired live on pay-per-view (price £19.95) by Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and by DAZN in the United States, Canada, Germany, Japan, Brazil, Italy, Spain, Austria and Switzerland.
