Bob Arum Says Dillian Whyte Should Head 2022 For Tyson Fury
It’s been nearly two months since Tyson Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs) defeated Deontay Wilder via dramatic eleventh-round stoppage on October 9 to retain the WBC world heavyweight title. The contest lived up to expectations from an excitement standpoint. It also wrapped up the trilogy between the two men. But in boxing, such as in life, one must move on. As we head into 2022, you now have to ask, “what does Fury has in store?”. During an interview with TalkSport, his co-promoter Bob Arum gave some insight into what Fury envisions for himself.
“[We] would like to see [Fury] getting in the ring at the end of February or March, and doing at least three fights in ‘22. Hopefully, that’s how it will rollout. Fury is ready to fight anybody. I really believe that he is the preeminent heavyweight in the world. There’s nobody out there that he would be reluctant to fight.”
ON THE IMMEDIATE HORIZON
There’s been a big question in regards to who is Fury’s immediate title defense against. Dillian Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) is the WBC’s number one heavyweight contender. His team is currently in arbitration with the WBC, waiting for a ruling on a mandatory title shot against Fury. When asked whether the plan is to face Whyte next, Arum said this in response:
“I think Dillian Whyte should be the next fight for Tyson Fury. There’s talk about Usyk, who beat Joshua. Joshua has a rematch clause, and talk about Joshua stepping aside. But Joshua is not going to step aside unless he’s guaranteed the winner of Fury and Usyk. How can anyone assure him of that when Dillian Whyte is in the mandatory position?
So, the way I think it’s going to fallout is Fury against Whyte. I think that fight which, Top Rank would co-promote with Queensbury and Frank Warren, in the United Kingdom.”
CAN’T BE AVOIDED
Arum went on to say that he would like to eventually make a fight with Fury and Usyk, who is the current unified IBF/WBA ‘super’/WBO world heavyweight champion. However, because Whyte is the mandatory challenger to Fury’s title, that obligation cannot be averted according to the CEO of Top Rank.
“We’ve got to push ahead and get a date and an opponent for Fury. It seems to me that it’s logical that it should be Dillian Whyte.”
Arum’s words are good news, if you’re a Dillian Whyte fan. He is hungry for the opportunity to fight for the WBC title. There’s a lot of tape to cut through in the courts. But it seems that he is closer than ever to getting his long-awaited world title shot.
Nowadays, most heavyweight champions only fight twice a year. So, it’s refreshing to hear that Fury plans on having such an active schedule. It looks as if the start of his 2022 will be a title defense against Whyte. Stay tuned to 3KingsBoxing for more updates for further developments.
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By: Michael Wilson Jr.
