Dillian Whyte could receive his long-awaited WBC title shot in 2020 should Deontay Wilder not be ready for his contracted trilogy fight with reigning champion Tyson Fury, according to WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman.
Fury decimated Wilder in seven rounds in February, but was already contractually obligated to a third meeting with the American despite the ease of that victory. The chaos of the Covid-19 Pandemic then pushed back Fury-Wilder III and, therefore, Whyte’s mandatory shot into 2021.
To add further confusion, WBC champion Fury and WBA Super, WBO and IBF title-holder Anthony Joshua began to negotiate a two-fight series beginning in 2021. A frustrated Whyte then sought a legal remedy stating that Fury must fight him next after Wilder or vacate the WBC crown in 2021.
But there is still a slim possibility that Whyte’s opportunity arrives sooner, with Wilder recuperating from bicep surgery ahead of a proposed December 19 fight date with Fury.
WBC President Sulaiman has confirmed the sanctioning body would accept a Fury-Whyte fight in late 2020, should Wilder not be available.
“It could happen if they reach an agreement and they accept that to happen. It could happen yes,” Sulaiman told Sky Sports.
“There’s so much hype, so much speculation about so many different things. [But] there’s the position that’s very clear – the third [Fury-Wilder] fight and then the mandatory [Whyte] must take place.
“There are resources known in the sport that could lead to other scenarios, but the WBC’s position and ruling is as I stated.”
First, Whyte meets former WBA champion Alexander Povetkin in a tricky encounter on August 22, televised on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK.