Luis Ortiz vs. Dillian Whyte (WBC final eliminator)

[Enlightened-One]

"Luis Ortiz vs. Dillian Whyte - WBC Final Eliminator Ordered"

BS.com has been advised that the World Boxing Council has ordered heavyweights Luis Ortiz and Dillian Whyte to take part in a WBC final eliminator.

The winner would become the mandatory challenger to WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs).

Wilder is scheduled to return in the coming, potentially in a voluntary defense against Dominic Breazeale - if a deal is not reached for unification with IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO champion Anthony Joshua.

There is a purse bid set for May 25th in Mexico City - and if the contest heads to a purse bid the split will be 50-50.

Thoughts?

[DrDuke]

Not the best option. A one, who has just lost his opportunity to become a champion pretty fair, receive a chance to get another such opportunity. And Ortiz will most likely get it, because he will knock Whyte out. The only way for Whyte to win is to somehow survive for the second half of the fight and activate there. Furthermore, there was a talk about Pulev vs Whyte, so that's something strange.

[Enlightened-One]

Matchroom wins the purse bid and the bout will be staged in the UK. Dillian Whyte will have to endure some tricky moments, but he'll outwork the Cuban en route to scoring a controversial, but legitimately close, decision victory!

[Rob3_142]

As has already been stated by your other thread EO, this is nothing short of a farce. 8 out of 9 title defences by Wilder have been against members of the Al Haymon stable. And now they are making Whyte jump through yet another hoop.

Not only that, but the fact that Stiverne was installed as mandatory challenges despite only fighting once in 34 months (which was a scratchy performance against Derric Rossy, who floored Stiverne in the opening round), and now Ortiz next fight after losing his world championship bout is a final eliminator.

The whole thing stinks to high heaven. I hope someone from Whyte/Joshua steams Wilder and gets that belt out of the States.

[Enlightened-One]

Based on what I’ve been reading, it seems very likely that Dillian Whyte will reject the opportunity to face Luis Ortiz, because a victory over the Cuban is unlikely to gain him a shot at Deontay Wilder within the next 18 months, as the WBC champion only needs to defend his title against a mandatory challenger once per year and “The Bronze Bomber’s” bout against his current mandatory, Dominic Breazeale, hasn’t got a date set yet.

So I expect the Brit to go down the WBA or the IBF title routes instead.

To be fair to Dillian Whyte, he should consider filing a lawsuit against the WBC, because of the way that they have prioritised the interests of heavyweight fighters affiliated to Al Haymon over the application of their own rules.

[Rob3_142]

Was there any outcome to the law suit which was proportioned against Wilder from the Povetkin camp?

It's amazing that Ortiz failed a drugs test but was straight back in the ring not too long after, still getting his world title shot.

[IRLangmaid25]

"Luis Ortiz vs. Dillian Whyte - WBC Final Eliminator Ordered"

BS.com has been advised that the World Boxing Council has ordered heavyweights Luis Ortiz and Dillian Whyte to take part in a WBC final eliminator.

The winner would become the mandatory challenger to WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs).

Wilder is scheduled to return in the coming, potentially in a voluntary defense against Dominic Breazeale - if a deal is not reached for unification with IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO champion Anthony Joshua.

There is a purse bid set for May 25th in Mexico City - and if the contest heads to a purse bid the split will be 50-50.

Thoughts?

I am confused as well as the IBF have also ordered Dillyan Whyte to fight Kubrat Pulev for a crack at Anthony Joshua.

[Enlightened-One]

"Luis Ortiz vs. Dillian Whyte - WBC Final Eliminator Ordered"

BS.com has been advised that the World Boxing Council has ordered heavyweights Luis Ortiz and Dillian Whyte to take part in a WBC final eliminator.

The winner would become the mandatory challenger to WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs).

Wilder is scheduled to return in the coming, potentially in a voluntary defense against Dominic Breazeale - if a deal is not reached for unification with IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO champion Anthony Joshua.

There is a purse bid set for May 25th in Mexico City - and if the contest heads to a purse bid the split will be 50-50.

Thoughts?

I am confused as well as the IBF have also ordered Dillyan Whyte to fight Kubrat Pulev for a crack at Anthony Joshua.

Dillian Whyte has been ordered to compete in two final eliminators.

The bout against Ortiz would determine the second mandatory challenger, after Breazeale, for Wilder's WBC title.

The bout against Pulev grants Whyte an opportunity to engage in a rematch against Anthony Joshua for his IBF title.

Due to the fact that Whyte is unlikely to be granted an opportunity to share the ring with Deontay Wilder any sooner than late 2019 (if he beats Ortiz), the Brit will like go down the IBF route instead.

I personally suspect that Whyte will file a lawsuit against the WBC, since its impossible for anyone to justify their actions.

[Ruthless-RKO]

So Whyte has been okay to fight the likes of Pulev to become Joshua's mandatory, but won't fight Ortiz to become Ortiz's mando?

I know he was #1 ranked, but he was never actually the mandatory challenger.

[Lackeos]

Pretty weird that Whyte beat Chisora, Helenius, and Browne; and now he's just an eliminator (against a top 5 heavyweight) away from a title shot. The average heavyweight title contender only has to achieve about 1/10th as much as Whyte to get a shot. It's pretty ridic comparing Whyte's journey to a title shot to other title challengers like Eric Molina (twice), Gerald Washington, Bermane Stiverne (the second time), Chris Arreola, Artur Szpilka, Manuel Charr, Alexander Ustinov, Dominick Breazeale, Charles Martin, etc.

[Enlightened-One]

So Whyte has been okay to fight the likes of Pulev to become Joshua's mandatory, but won't fight Ortiz to become Ortiz's mando?

I know he was #1 ranked, but he was never actually the mandatory challenger.

Dillian Whyte has been the number one challenger for the WBC title for more than six months, he's already competed in an eliminator, he currently holds the WBC silver title and is ranked higher than Dominic Breazeale, who is Wilder's current mandatory title challenger.

The Brit has been overlooked on multiple occasions due to the WBC's allegiance to Al Haymon's heavyweights.

The fight against Ortiz only determines the second mandatory challenger for Wilder's title,l and the winner won't be granted an opportunity to fight for the WBC belt before Breazeale does.

According to the WBC's own rules, their champion only needs to perform one mandatory defence per year and it'll be five months or so until we see Wilder face Brazeale.

So therefore, why would Dillian Whyte agree to engage in yet another WBC eliminator, when that organisation has already overlooked him by allowing lower ranked Al Haymon fighters get a shot at Wilder before he does?

What benefit does facing Luis Ortiz bring to Dillian Whyte's career, since he'd have to wait at leats 18 months before he gets a shot at the title?

Let's not forget that Dillian Whyte first competed in a WBC title eliminator in 2016, but has never been granted an opportunity to face Wilder.

Why does the WBC insist that Dillian Whyte has to jump through so many more hoops in order to gain a world title shot than the other nine men that has or will challenge Wilder?

[Evander]

Love the match up.

[Badhusker]

It sounds to me like a bunch of fans from the UK are worried that Whyte will lose to Ortiz. It is a fantastic match up that will give Whyte a chance to show he is a top five heavyweight, and get a shot at Wilder.

If Wilder and Joshua fight next, Ortiz vs Povetkin would be a great fight too, and I would pick Ortiz to win that as well.

[Evander]

Wilder and Joshua won't fight next ^

[Enlightened-One]

"Hearn: How Did WBC Order Whyte-Ortiz, Wilder-Breazeale Next?"

As Dillian Whyte’s promoter perused a WBC quarterly report issued by email Tuesday night, he noticed that the sanctioning organization ordered a heavyweight championship elimination match between Whyte, who’s ranked No. 1 by the WBC, and fourth-ranked Luis Ortiz. Hearn thought that was a tad odd because Cuba’s Ortiz got knocked out less than two months ago by WBC champion Deontay Wilder.

Hearn had hoped the WBC would’ve declared Whyte the mandatory challenger for Wilder’s title...

Then Hearn read two words he truly couldn’t comprehend – second mandatory – as in Whyte and Ortiz would fight to become Wilder’s second mandatory challenger. That meant, as best as Hearn could determine, that there suddenly was a first mandatory challenger for Wilder’s title.

When Hearn spoke to WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman on Wednesday, Sulaiman informed him that Dominic Breazeale has been declared the mandatory challenger for Wilder. Sulaiman explained that Breazeale beat Eric Molina in a final eliminator November 4 on the undercard of Wilder’s first-round knockout of Bermane Stiverne in their WBC-mandated rematch at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

That couldn’t be true, according to Hearn, because Sulaiman sent him an email before Breazeale (19-1, 17 KOs) stopped Molina (26-5, 19 KOs) that assured Hearn the Breazeale-Molina match was not a final eliminator. Hearn has a lot of time and money invested in Whyte becoming Wilder’s next mandatory challenger, and he understandably wants answers as to how the second-ranked Breazeale has been guaranteed a title shot next, when he is rated behind Whyte (23-1, 17 KOs).

“... I’ve just wasted a lot of money and six, seven, eight months of Dillian Whyte’s career chasing down the mandatory, the No. 1 position in the WBC, whereas if I would’ve knew that this was gonna happen, I wouldn’t have bothered. I would’ve gone another route. I would’ve spent my money elsewhere, you know? So what I’m saying to the WBC is, ‘You can’t tell me that the fight’s not a final eliminator, let us chase that mandatory position – silver title sanctioning fees, big fights for the WBC – and then put us at the back of the queue and order a final eliminator against a guy that’s just been knocked out,’ to say, ‘Oh, that’s to the mandatory after the No. 2 gets his shot.’ ”

Hearn would’ve understood if the WBC simply would’ve allowed Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs) to make a voluntary defense against Breazeale because he satisfied his mandatory obligation by destroying Stiverne (25-3-1, 21 KOs) just 5½ months ago...

The Jamaican-born, London-based Whyte could battle Bulgaria’s Kubrat Pulev (25-1, 13 KOs) in an IBF elimination match to determine the mandatory challenger for one of the four titles Joshua owns...

“We’ve also got a final eliminator with the IBF, that we’re also negotiating with Kubrat Pulev, to be the mandatory for Joshua,” Hearn said. “But we’ve spent all our time and money to pursue the [WBC], to pursue Deontay Wilder. And now they’re blocking us because they don’t want us, I’m talking about Wilder, don’t want Whyte to be the mandatory, to get his shot. That’s the truth.”

“[Dillian] calls me like a hundred times a day, asking, ‘What the f***’s going on?’ And this has pissed him off because we’ve been chasing Wilder, we’ve been chasing that No. 1 spot. We are No. 1. So now you went No. 1 against No. 4 in a final eliminator and make No. 2 the mandatory.”

[Lackeos]

It honestly makes absolutely no sense that Whyte needs to further earn a title shot, but Breazeale has supposedly already done enough. All that Breazeale has done is beat a barely top 50 fraud who Chris Arreola steamrolled in 1 round. Whyte is already on a tear that includes Chisora, Helenius, and Browne. So the WBC is saying that if Whyte beats Ortiz, then he can get in line behind Breazeale (and Joshua). That's ridiculous. Breazeale has never beatan anyone as good as Chisora, or Browne, or Ortiz. Whyte should be in the front of the line already, and Breazeale should be lined-up for an eliminator with Ortiz / Povetkin / Parker / Pulev (the WBC #3-6 ranked fighters). Whyte is the WBC #1 and holds the WBC silver belt. Breazeale is the WBC #2, and hasn't competed in an eliminator. It's pretty straightforward who the mandatory should be.

[candyslim]

So Whyte has been okay to fight the likes of Pulev to become Joshua's mandatory, but won't fight Ortiz to become Ortiz's mando?

I know he was #1 ranked, but he was never actually the mandatory challenger.

The point is Whyte doesn't need a WBA or IBF mandatory to get a shot at Joshua because they want to fight each other and they are both Hearn fighters.

I know Dillian ideally wants to face AJ in the first ever all British Heavyweight unification and for that he needs to win (as things stand) the WBC belt.

if he were to beat Ortiz and I see this as a close fight now (two years ago Ortiz wins, no question) so that's by no means a certainty, then he probably still doesn't get to Wilder because there's a unification in the offing or the WBC have decided that was an eliminator not a final eliminator and that he still has to fight Miller or Parker or someone in a final eliminator.

[Rob3_142]

So Whyte has been okay to fight the likes of Pulev to become Joshua's mandatory, but won't fight Ortiz to become Ortiz's mando?

I know he was #1 ranked, but he was never actually the mandatory challenger.

The point is Whyte doesn't need a WBA or IBF mandatory to get a shot at Joshua because they want to fight each other and they are both Hearn fighters.

I know Dillian ideally wants to face AJ in the first ever all British Heavyweight unification and for that he needs to win (as things stand) the WBC belt.

if he were to beat Ortiz and I see this as a close fight now (two years ago Ortiz wins, no question) so that's by no means a certainty, then he probably still doesn't get to Wilder because there's a unification in the offing or the WBC have decided that was an eliminator not a final eliminator and that he still has to fight Miller or Parker or someone in a final eliminator.

Wilder won't be expected to fight Whyte for easily 18 months, at which point Wilder could have lost his title, or they just throw another mandatory his way. If he continues to go down the WBC route, the IBF or WBA might remove him from the #1 position, or even worse remove him from the rankings altogether.

Whyte doesn't deserve to be treated this way, and should be given his due for some fine form and good levels of activity.

[Badhusker]

It is actually funny that so many here are surprised and upset that Dillon Whyte is not being treated fair by an ABC org? They do crap like this fairly often.
Some unranked guys get title shots at weights they have not even fought at. Many examples over the years. Just because it is happening to your countryman doesn't make it anything extraordinary.
Look at the rankings. Why is one guy ranked high by one ABC and not ranked by another? They do what they want.

[Lackeos]

Other sad possibilities to consider:
-Ortiz wins the eliminator, Wilder beats Joshua, now Ortiz rematches Wilder.
-Joshua wins the WBC belt, Whyte wins the eliminator, now Joshua has to rematch Breazeale followed by rematching Whyte. Even worse if Wilder has a rematch clause. Then Joshua would have to rematch Wilder, Breazeale, and Whyte in relatively consecutive order.

[candyslim]

I don't think anyone is suggesting there is anything extraordinary or even surprising, merely disgusting.

The only thing I find surprising is that anyone involved in boxing (who isn't profiting by their mutual back-scratching arrangement with Sulaiman) pays any attention to the egregious pudendum and his corrupt organization.

The only reason they even still exist is because of recognition they are afforded and the sanctioning fees that follow from that.

If enough people ignored them as an irrelevance like they do the IBO, then they would be powerless and broke. The only problem with that is that the WBA are even worse. How about the IBF ... hmmmmn ... well you know what they say ... 'in the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is King'.

Sadly it ain't gonna happen.

[Enlightened-One]

It is actually funny that so many here are surprised and upset that Dillon Whyte is not being treated fair by an ABC org? They do crap like this fairly often.

Surprised? No.

Upset? Yes.

[Ruthless-RKO]

It is actually funny that so many here are surprised and upset that Dillon Whyte is not being treated fair by an ABC org? They do crap like this fairly often.

Surprised? No.

Upset? Yes.

You don't need to be upset for a boxer. They fight and earn for a living. They get what they get. Yes, may be mistreated by an org, but that's nothing new.

[Enlightened-One]

It is actually funny that so many here are surprised and upset that Dillon Whyte is not being treated fair by an ABC org? They do crap like this fairly often.

Surprised? No.

Upset? Yes.

You don't need to be upset for a boxer. They fight and earn for a living. They get what they get. Yes, may be mistreated by an org, but that's nothing new.

The source of my frustration relates to the WBC’s conduct.

They’ve willingly received several sizable sanctioning fees from Matchroom since late 2016, wasted at least a year of Whyte’s career and allowed several Al Haymon fighters to overtake him in the queue for a shot at Wilder.

As Eddie Hearn already stated, if he knew beforehand that the earliest opportunity that Dillian Whyte would gain a title shot would be sometime during 2020, he wouldn’t have bothered going down the WBC route and allowed his fighter to keep jumping through so many hoops that ultimately led to nowhere.

You’re right though, the WBC has always been utterly rancid, but it surprises me that they get away with such dodgy shenanigans so often whilst escaping criticism.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Surprised? No.

Upset? Yes.

As Eddie Hearn already stated, if he knew beforehand that the earliest opportunity that Dillian Whyte would gain a title shot would be sometime during 2020, he wouldn’t have bothered going down the WBC route and allowed his fighter to keep jumping through so many hoops that ultimately led to nowhere.

You’re right though, the WBC has always been utterly rancid, but it surprises me that they get away with such dodgy shenanigans so often whilst escaping criticism.

Good thing is, Whyte, without paying additional sanctioning fees with other orgs, he's highly ranked. Just like IBF ordered him to fight Pulev.. So yeh, time/opportunity wasted with the Silver belt. But like it said, unlike some boxers, who only have a high ranking with one org.. Whyte is ranked highly with all the orgs.