Minutes after Tyson Fury dismantled an out-of-sorts Deontay Wilder a campaign began for Anthony Joshua despite Dillian Whyte being mandatory.
Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn kicked off proceedings with a viral tweet, which Fury’s mandatory challenger and second-in-command heavyweight Whyte didn’t take too kindly too.
Whyte was miffed. Mainly due to the fact he was number one contender with the WBC for over 600 days until eventually being crowned interim title-holder last year.
Now, with his chance finally ratified to happen before February 2021, Hearn is pushing to make Fury vs Joshua a reality in 2020.
But seeing how Whyte has been waiting over two years for his opportunity, shouldn’t the Londoner be given first dibs at Fury?
It also begs the question, ‘How would Eddie Hearn approach the subject with the WBC?’
Given how vehemently he spoke out against the WBC, alongside Whyte – to be given a date for the Wilder fight (before Fury’s win), is Hearn now going to tell the WBC, ‘No, it’s fine now, I’d like Joshua to face Fury instead of Dillian?’
It’s a strange one. And clearly the only way the unification would happen. We already know Fury vs Joshua won’t be undisputed as the WBO or IBF strap will have to be dropped soon by the four-belt- ruler soon.
Dillian Whyte
Therefore, what’s the rush? – And why do Dillian like that? – Especially after fighting his corner so hard and doing all he could to clear Whyte of doping allegations.
Fury has Wilder to deal with first in the summer of 2020. Then, the new champ will be ordered to face Whyte by the end of the year. That’s provided the WBC stick to their original blueprint.
It opens the door for Fury or Whyte to then battle Joshua in a summer blockbuster in 2021. Probably at Wembley Stadium or in Saudi Arabia if Hearn goes for the money.
After plowing through one big mess, it seems Whyte has found himself firmly embroiled in another. It will certainly be interesting to see how Whyte reacts further to Hearn’s continual banging of the Fury vs Joshua drum.
There are few other options open to Whyte.
He could go for the winner of Manuel Charr vs Trevor Bryant for the WBA ‘regular’ or maybe challenge the European champion once the dust settles on Daniel Dubois vs Joe Joyce. But both of those are a significant step down from Fury or Wilder.
A return for Whyte will be due by May or June. But with Derek Chisora likely to fight Oleksandr Usyk for the WBO version, despite ‘The Bodysnatcher’ beating him twice and ex-title holder Joseph Parker – for that matter, massive question marks could fall over the future of the one-loss puncher in the coming months.
How will it all play out?
