Tyson Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs) and Dillian Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) exchanged handshakes. smiles and even caps rather than glares. stares or trash talk at an unusually good-natured weigh-in on Friday afternoon ahead of their clash for the WBC and lineal heavyweight titles tomorrow night at Wembley Stadium.
At this week’s press conference Fury and Whyte were respectful, friendly even, when they faced off, with the Gypsy king even playfully tickling the Body Snatcher’s stomach at one point, and there was a similar vibe this afternoon at Wembley BoxPark.
Champion Fury tipped the scales at 264lbs 13 oz., the lightest he has been since his 2019 showdown with Otto Wallin and over a stone lighter than for his third epic shoot-out with Deontay Wilder last year.
Whyte, meanwhile, weighed in at 253lbs 4 oz, a few pounds heavier than for his pair of fights against Alexander Povetkin in 2020 and 2021.
After weighing in, the two men came came face-to-face for the most convivial of stare-downs, which ended with good-natured handshakes and Whyte exchanging his cap for Fury’s before the two men posed for photos while dancing along to the background music at Wembley BoxPark.
“I’m so happy to be back here fighting in the UK at Wembley stadium,” Fury said afterwards. Addressing the crowd directly he then added: “You people made it happen – each and every one of you. Respect to Dillian Whyte and his team, proper professional men. Don’t doubt us, we’re gonna put a show on like no other before. It’s gonna be a war, don’t worry about that.”
For his part Whyte added: “I’m fighting a much heavier guy so I wanted to be a little bit [heavier]. We’re ready to go to war. Don’t let this [friendliness] fool you. I feel fit, I feel ready, so let’s go.”
Fury and Whyte’s showdown at Wembley is expected to set a post-World War 2 European record attendance figure of 94,000 (Max Schmeling’s 1934 showdown with Walter Neusel at the Sandbahn Lokstedt in Hamburg is the all-time record holder, having attracted 102,000 spectators).
Tyson Fury – last eight weights:
277lbs vs Deontay Wilder 2021
273lbs vs Deontay Wilder, 2020
254 ½ lbs vs Otto Wallin, 2019
263 ½ lbs vs Tom Schwarz, 2019
256 ½ lbs vs Deontay Wilder, 2018
258 lbs vs Francesco Pianeta, 2018
276 lbs vs Sefer Seferi, 2018
247lbs vs Wladimir Klitschko, 2015
Dillian Whyte – last eight weights:
247 ¼ lbs vs Alexander Povetkin, 2021
252 ¼ lbs vs Alexander Povetkin, 2020
271 lbs vs Mariusz Wach, 2019
259 lbs vs Oscar Rivas, 2019
246 ½ lbs vs Dereck Chisora, 2018
258 ½ lbs vs Joseph Parker, 2018
254 lbs vs Lucas Browne, 2018
247 ½ lbs vs Robert Helenius, 2017
247 ½ lbs vs Robert Helenius, 2017