Despite opening talks with Tyson Fury, promoter Eddie Hearn has admitted Dillian Whyte should get his shot before Anthony Joshua.
Hearn has made Joshua facing Fury his number one matter of late as Whyte battled the WBC for his long-awaited chance.
But in a seemingly alternate development, Hearn believes Whyte could squeeze a fight against Fury before ‘The Gypsy King’ tackles AJ.
So what does that tell you?
It almost certainly means Hearn expects Fury to beat Whyte, hence the need to get a fight with Joshua tied up beforehand. Quite a startling turn of events.
Explaining his thoughts earlier this week, Hearn told Sky Sports: “Once a promise has been made, it was February 2020, then it was delayed by a year, then enough is enough,” in regards to a WBC clarification exclusively given to World Boxing News.
He added unequivocally: “Whyte should take priority over Joshua to get the Fury fight.
“Joshua will fight Pulev in November, so won’t fight until May, June, or July of next year anyway. So there’s no reason why Whyte shouldn’t get that shot.”
If Whyte is going to land Fury first, it’s hard to understand why Joshua’s negotiations are ongoing. Shouldn’t Hearn be planning to make Joshua vs Whyte 2 instead?
ANTHONY JOSHUA vs DILLIAN WHYTE II
As a promoter, championing your fights is usually the norm. However, there’s been no mention of the possibility of an AJ vs Whyte rematch.
Dillian Whyte can upset Fury if you believe several interviews by Hearn in the past. Therefore, Fury vs Joshua already being agreed upon is a non-event. That fight should undoubtedly be on hold until Whyte’s challenge is in the books.
Whyte cannot be completely happy with the situation, whatever the case may be, and whatever contingencies are in place.
He’s waited almost 1000 days already for his chance to come to pass. That will be considerably longer by the time the first bell rings.
None of this mess will get UK fans any closer actually to seeing Fury vs Joshua come to fruition anyway. Both have to defeat two foes each in the meantime.
Which once again begs the question – why negotiate now?
Phil Jay is an experienced boxing news writer. Follow WBN: Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.
