Frank Warren outbid UK rival promoter Eddie Hearn by almost nine million dollars as a Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte clash got secured on Friday.
At the four times postponed World Boxing Council purse bid, Warren trump Hearn to capture the fight with a world record offer at the auction.
Never before has any boxing organization seen such a mammoth amount of money laid on the table for a mandatory fight.
Tyson Fury stands to make over $32 million from his eighty percent share of the pot. Whyte still earns a career-high of $8.2m despite only getting handing twenty percent by the WBC.
Mandatory challengers usually get forty-five percent in normal circumstances. But such is Fury’s pulling power in the boxing world; the WBC bumped up his stake.
President Mauricio Sulaiman couldn’t hide his delight as his sanctioning body oversaw a history-making event.
“This is the coin flipped to determine the opening of the bids,” said a proud Sulaiman. [The bids of] $32,222,222 by Matchroom Boxing [and] $41,025,000 by
Queensberry Promotions.
“This is the biggest purse bid in the history of boxing. Congratulations, Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte. [The] WBC Heavyweight championship.
This is the coin flipped to determine the opening of the bids
$32,222,222 by @MatchroomBoxing
$41,025,000 by
Queensberry Promotions
This is the biggest purse bid in the history of boxing
Congratulations #FuryWhyte @WBCBoxing Heavyweight championship@Tyson_Fury @DillianWhyte pic.twitter.com/Blz4IUDKlH— Mauricio Sulaiman (@wbcmoro) January 28, 2022
Warren had previously stated it would be up to Fury to decide when he returns to action after defeating Deontay Wilder for the second time last October.
As Fury celebrated another stunning stoppage of Wilder in one of the best top division battles of all time, the Hall of Famer said: “In my book, Tyson warrants his place in the pantheon of heavyweight greats and deserves his place in history.
“I keep getting asked what is next for Tyson. The honest answer is that the man himself will determine his next move when he is ready.
“He will do what he believes is right for him and won’t be told who he has to fight. “He has earned that right. We will be ready and waiting to deliver on his wishes.”
FURY vs WHYTE PURSE BID
On this occasion, Fury had no choice but to face Whyte as the interim champion and stipulated challenger. However, Fury did attempt a last-minute change-up when offering a step-aside to Anthony Joshua to fight Oleksandr Usyk instead of him.
That situation failed to materialize as the WBC deadline loomed for this weekend.
Both sides will now attempt to thrash out a deal for what was due to be a March 26 battle at Manchester Arena. But due to the massive monetary layout by Warren, a UK football stadium will surely be the order of the day.
That scenario could see the fight delayed until April.
Phil Jay – Editor of World Boxing News since 2010 with over one billion views. Follow WBN on Twitter @WorldBoxingNews.
