After his blockbuster bout with Anthony Joshua went up in smoke thanks to Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury could still have an all-British fight for the world title as he has been given the green light to face Dillian Whyte.
Tyson Fury has been given the go-ahead to fight Dillian Whyte in an all-British clash for the world heavyweight title if the Gypsy King defeats Deontay Wilder. Fury faces the American in the third instalment of their trilogy next weekend in Las Vegas.
British boxing fans’ worst fears were realised when Anthony Joshua was defeated by Oleksandr Usyk, with the Brit losing his WBA, WBA, IBF and IBO world titles to the Ukrainian.
Usyk - now a two-division champion - dethroned ‘AJ’ in front of 65,000 fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday night, as the former undisputed cruiserweight champion comfortably outclassed Joshua.
Usyk stunned the defending champion on a number of occasions, landing a number of impressing hits to win unanimously on points.
The WBC are now likely to use the opportunity to call forward Whyte, who faces Otto Wallin on October 30, to contend for the title.
Fury's US promoter Bob Arum admitted the bout with Whyte is an enticing one, and teased that the fight could take place on British shores.
“Dillian Whyte is the number one contender, and that could be a big, big fight for Tyson,” Arum told iFL TV.
“Particularly if we held it in the UK, so that’s not out of the question. Dillian Whyte is a capable heavyweight.
“A fight against Tyson Fury or Wilder, whoever wins on October 9th, would be a very interesting fight.
“I think Tyson Fury is the much better heavyweight than Anthony Joshua, but it’s heavyweight and in the heavyweight division everything is possible.”
With a Joshua-Usyk rematch likely to be announced, it could take a while before an undisputed champion can be crowned.
Whyte would therefore be a suitable candidate to face Fury, particularly after he spent over 1,000 days as the number one contender before he was finally named the mandatory challenger.
However, a shock knockout defeat to Alexander Povetkin in August 2020 ruined the 33-year-old’s hopes of earning a title shot. Whyte knocked Povetkin out in four rounds to regain his position.
If Whyte defeats Wallin next month, he will face either Fury or Wilder.
“It’s a really interesting situation,” Whyte’s promoter Eddie Hearn said. “Anything can happen.
“In an ideal world, Tyson Fury beats Deontay Wilder, the mandatory is called for Dillian Whyte.
“Dillian Whyte beats Tyson Fury, AJ beats Usyk, and then we got Whyte against AJ for the undisputed next summer.”
Thoughts?
