Arum says that the pandemic has wiped out three months and that the mandatory challengers will need to wait longer for them to get their title shot.
“We will be talking to the organizations to eliminate mandatories, or to postpone them all for at least one year,” said Arum to skysports.com. “I am sick and tired of being forced, with my marquee fighters, to fight meaningless fights against mandatories that mean nothing.”
“These organizations will be cognizant that the mandatories must be pushed into the future because fighters,” said Arum.
Whyte might end up having to wait until 2022 for him to get his title shot at the WBC champion Eddie Hearn wants Joshua to fight Fury twice next year.
Technically-speaking, the winner of the third bout of the Fury-Wilder trilogy won’t be obliged by the WBC to face Dillian Whyte until February 2021 (4½ years after the 'The Body Snatcher' won his first WBC eliminator, 3½ years after he became the WBC’s highest-ranked contender and 20 months after achieving mandatory challenger status).
And it seems that Bob Arum is intent on forcing the WBC to make Dillian Whyte wait until 2022 until he finally receives his well overdue title shot, which is pretty much five years after 'The Body Snatcher' officially became the highest-ranked contender for Mauricio Sulaimán's governing body.
Then the WBC could strip Fury of the title and have Wilder fight Whyte. Since Whyte has the interim WBC belt, he would be the champ if Fury was stripped. Fury could still fight Joshua, but without the WBC title at stake.
Arum told Sky Sports that mandatories should be pushed back due to the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic.
Arum told Sky Sports that mandatories should be pushed back due to the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic.
“These organisations will be cognizant that the mandatories must be pushed into the future because fighters, for at least three months, had no ability to fight,” he said. “Then after those three months the fights will be without spectators.
“We will be talking to the organisations to eliminate mandatories, or to postpone them all for at least one year.
“I am sick and tired of being forced, with my marquee fighters, to fight meaningless fights against mandatories that mean nothing.
“I won’t denigrate Dillian Whyte, but the fact that he’s a mandatory means nothing to me.
“If he fought Fury in the US it would be the same as Fury fighting [Otto Wallin]. It means nothing.
“All boxing promoters and all organisations have to get together to get things rolling at the highest level. Then we’ll worry about mandatories.”
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told Sky Sports that all mandatories are under review in every weight division.
Zero sympathy for Whyte. Turned down 2 eliminators vs Ortiz and Pulev which would have made him mandatory. Turned down a voluntary title shot vs Joshua so he deserves to wait. When Furys beats Wilder again the AJ has to happen. Whyte only has himself to blame.
rio wrote: ↑05 Jun 2020, 20:50
Zero sympathy for Whyte. Turned down 2 eliminators vs Ortiz and Pulev which would have made him mandatory. Turned down a voluntary title shot vs Joshua so he deserves to wait. When Furys beats Wilder again the AJ has to happen. Whyte only has himself to blame.
Yes, i remember this exactly, whyte turned down two mandatory fight because he thought he was something special and so he should blame himself only.
IMHO, Tyson Fury is the Heavyweight Champion of The World, no matter what the WBC does or does not do. Wladimir Klitschko was the champion before Fury, then came Fury, who is Champion now. The rest, including Joshua, and the rest, are Challengers. (Some of them hold Regional Titles. That's always been true.) I know, I'm an old guy, stuck in the past (Lol), but I still think there's only one Heavyweight Champion of The World, and Fury is him.
