Tyson Fury warned he has ‘no escape’ from fighting Dillian Whyte after Deontay Wilder as Eddie Hearn hails WBC ruling
TYSON FURY has been warned he has “no escape” from fighting Dillian Whyte if he beats Deontay Wilder.
Fury, 31, who won the WBC title in February, is contracted to an immediate rematch against Wilder, 34.
But the WBC confirmed after the trilogy bout – which faces being moved from December to early 2021 – the winner must face 32-year-old Whyte.
It further delays a super-fight between Fury and Anthony Joshua, 30, but promoter Eddie Hearn insists Whyte takes priority.
Hearn told talkSPORT: “We knew it but it’s always nice to get confirmation from the WBC.
“Every time they confirm it in writing gives us more clout moving forward. It’s fantastic for Dillian Whyte.
“He still has to get past Alexander Povetkin on August 22, but if he does that he will have to fight the winner of Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder very early next year.
“Of course, we want the winner of that to go on to fight Anthony Joshua in the summer of next year for the undisputed.
“Big news for Dillian Whyte and no escape for Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder, as confirmed by the WBC.”
Whyte has been the WBC’s No1 ranked challenger since 2017, but only last year earned his spot as mandatory after beating Oscar Rivas.
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However, his status was revoked after an ‘adverse finding’ was found in his pre-fight drug test, and the WBC instead handed Fury a shot at Wilder’s belt.
Whyte was eventually cleared of any doping violations by United Kingdom Anti-Doping, but could only watch as the Gypsy King won the belt.
He had been promised a shot at the title by February next year, but Fury’s promoter Bob Arum revealed the Wilder trilogy could carry over to that date.