Dillian Whyte has launched another offensive against the World Boxing Council which could damage his attempts to fight Deontay Wilder.
Despite being number one in the rankings, Whyte has found himself waiting around for a shot at the current green and gold belt holder.
WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman has explained numerous times why Whyte has been bypassed. This is due to the Briton rejecting a final eliminator with Luis Ortiz.
Not fighting Ortiz hasn’t affected Whyte’s rating, but did mean the WBC had to move down to the next available fighter.
At that time, both Tyson Fury and Ortiz were not in a position to fight. This left the WBC to order Breazeale versus Eric Molina. The winner would then get a mandated crack at Wilder.
Fury’s decision to accept an offer to fight Wilder delayed things considerably as the WBC always want to champion the best fights for the fans.
This meant Breazeale was forced to wait.
In an attempt to cool the delay, Sulaiman held a meeting and put Whyte forward for an interim title bout with Breazeale. In a further twist, Fury then pulled out of a rematch with Wilder.
This led to Breazeale once again being pushed forward. It was once again Whyte who suffered due to his previous reluctance to fight Ortiz.
Turning down Ortiz wasn’t the first time Whyte chose money over a shot at the world title. When ‘The Bodysnatcher’ had the opportunity to fight Kubrat Pulev for a mandated fight with old rival Anthony Joshua, Whyte said the payday wasn’t enough.
Joshua offered Whyte a rematch earlier this year. Once again, Whyte turned down the deal due to money.
So why hasn’t Whyte fought for a world title yet? – It’s simple as Whyte has passed up on several chances himself.
Now, Whyte may well have killed a future shot by giving the WBC both barrels for the second time.
Speaking to BBC Newsbeat, Whyte confirmed cold hard cash was the reason he hasn’t yet secured a chance at a current champion.
“You can’t offer [Tyson] Fury £15m and offer me £4m,” Whyte said. “Fury’s not three times the draw that I am.
“I know what value I bring. Of course I believe I can become world champion, anything could happen.
“Of course I believe I can beat him.
“I really wanted him to fight AJ because he puts me under so much pressure to fight for the world title, that would have been me finally saying ‘Leave me alone, right go!’
“But he’s playing the long game, he’s backing himself, whereas others would have gone – where do I sign?
WBC
“The WBC is a joke. Boxing is a funny sport, it makes no sense. These things only happen in boxing.
“It wouldn’t happen in the business world, it wouldn’t happen in normal life or in any other sport apart from boxing.
“It’s just boxing and you get on with it.”
