Tyson Fury’s purse bidding for WBC world heavyweight title defending match against Dillian Whyte is delayed for the third time. It may now happen officially on January 26th if the parties involved are unable to reach an agreement before the due date.
WBC head Mauricio Sulaiman announced the information on his official Twitter page.
The @WBCBoxing has received requests from both sides @Tyson_Fury & @DillianWhyte to extend the free negotiation period which has been granted . If there is no agreement a purse offer ceremony will take place on Wednesday January 26 @trboxing @MatchroomBoxing @MTKGlobal
— Mauricio Sulaiman (@wbcmoro) January 21, 2022
Who will Tyson Fury fight next – Dillian Whyte or Oleksandr Usyk?
To put it lightly, the discussions for Fury vs. Whyte have been hectic. The first step was Whyte’s civil procedure against the WBC later the previous year for his never-ending standing as the top challenger; as a result, the WBC declined to compel the contest against Fury. Nevertheless, during the regulatory body’s annual meeting, it was ruled that Fury would meet Whyte in a compulsory defense, albeit with an 80-20 split in Fury’s favor due to an appeal by Top Rank.
As expected, this did not sit well with the Whyte’s team, who are attempting to increase their cut from the fight purse.
Then there were whispers that both Whyte and Anthony Joshua, who is scheduled to face Oleksandr Usyk in a rematch this spring, might move back to allow Fury to battle Usyk in an undisputed title bout. With purse bids originally scheduled for January 21st, this further delay could indicate that a settlement between the Fury and Whyte teams is nearing completion. Tyson Fury’s promoter, Bob Arum, remains optimistic that his client’s bout with Dillian Whyte will go place on March 26 in Cardiff.
Discussions over the purse risk to postpone the match, which is scheduled to take place at the Principality Stadium. The WBC had stated that the purse might be divided 80/20 in support of titleholder Fury, who has been instructed to fight Whyte. But, the contender has filed an appeal after being dissatisfied with the proposal, and purse bidding has been postponed again.
Eddie Hearn suggested that the postponement could derail chances of having the fight before April, but Arum is optimistic that a deal can be struck in time, allowing the victor to proceed to a rematch with the champion of Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk match. He recently talked about the negotiations in an interview with World Boxing News. He said:
“Hopefully we’ll get it done. Dillian Whyte in the UK against Tyson Fury is a big, big fight and we’ll do good business and we’ll find a way to get it done. Let Fury fight Dillian Whyte. Let Joshua fight Usyk in their rematch and then the winners can fight. We hope to get Tyson on board and then we’ll go ahead and get the match made and Eddie (Hearn) will finalize the match with Usyk and Joshua.”
Eddie Hearn has also intimated that Joshua may step aside for his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, which might open the door for Fury to face the world champion. It is, however, denied by AJ in a video posted by him over his social media handle. In the video, he refutes the monetary deal that everyone is talking about and that is posted by The Telegraph as well. He says:
“You know what’s bad about the videos I see. I see certain interviews that quote what I said. Think to myself, I ain’t done no interviews where did this person get this information. I am hearing people saying AJ accepts £15 million to step aside. I ain’t sign no contract, I ain’t seen no contract. So, as it stands, stop listening to bullsh** until it comes from me. I am the man in control of my destiny. I am the man who handles my business. I’m a smart individual and I make calculated decisions every step of the way. Don’t listen to bullsh** from other interviews. If I tell you something, that’s real.”
Anthony Joshua fires back at reports that he is “close to accepting” a £15million step-aside deal to enable Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk…
[???? @AnthonyJoshua] pic.twitter.com/46nmJ1ddfQ
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) January 24, 2022
However, a tired Tyson Fury took to Twitter to share his agony. Frustrated at the various reports doing the rounds, Tyson Fury demanded clarity about his next fight.
“Another gym session done. Tuesday morning, smashed. Tick tick effing tick-tock is the subject today. Is Dillian Whyte going to fight me? Is Anthony Joshua going to step aside? Let me know because I’m sick of looking at these bums. Sick of listening to their excuses. Tick tick tock the time has run out of the bottle, you’re all getting good hiding, cowards!”
— TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) January 25, 2022
A deal on any fight is anticipated to be achieved by tomorrow, with the Fury vs. Whyte purse bids taking place at that time. Whyte is the mandatory contender to the Gypsy King’s WBC title, but he demands more than a 20% part of the earnings. The WBC has mandated the split, and purse bids have been delayed three times while negotiations over the fight move slowly. With Fury due to fight in Cardiff on March 26, his team is thought to be unhappy by the delays, and Joshua’s alleged willingness to step out has thrown another difficulty to negotiations.
Frank Warren, Fury’s UK promoter has said:
“It’s a saga but if we can keep things between us, we can get something over the line one way or another. Everybody in boxing wants to see the undisputed fight between Tyson and Usyk, I want to see it just as a fan. So that is the fight we are trying to make.”
This new statement could indicate that a resolution to the heavyweight unification match was possibly on the horizon. But Joshua’s refusal of any such offer has added more complications.