Dillian Whyte has demanded respect from Bob Arum after the Hall of Famer promoter queried the Londoner’s status as the WBC’S No.1 contender.
Mandatory challenger Whyte had expected to face WBC champion Tyson Fury by April 2021 before the Covid-19 pandemic intervened and talks escalated about a unification bout between the ‘Gypsy King’ and WBA Super, WBO and IBF champion Anthony Joshua.
This month, a frustrated Whyte sought a legal remedy to ensure the WBC enforce his right to face Fury after a contracted trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder takes place. Yet Fury’s co-promoter Arum has mischievously suggested Whyte should wait in line.
“Bob Arum needs to shut up, that’s what he needs to do, he needs to shut up,” a bristling Whyte told Sky Sports News.
“Listen, the guy is a Hall of Famer, he’s a nice guy and all of this, but he’s just talking rubbish.
“He needs to chill. He needs to learn some respect for himself and have some respect for me as well, and realise that I’ve earned my position, I’ve worked hard. Have some honour and decorum. You’ve been in boxing a long time, you know what boxing is like.”
After talk of Fury being elevated to ‘Franchise Champion’ status, and therefore free of mandatory commitments, WBC interim champion Whyte stated that simply cannot happen following a challenge by his team.
“His team are talking about [Fury being] a Franchise Champion and all of that, but we’ve intervened and stopped that,” said Whyte.
“It’s all good. The WBC have come out and said there’s no chance we’ll be making [Fury] Franchise Champion, so that’s a step in the right direction. He will have to fight me or vacate the belt.”
Whyte (27-1, 18 KOs) returns to action against Russian warhorse Alexander Povetkin on August 22 on Sky Box Office, knowing complacency could yet derail his dreams of heavyweight glory.
“[Fury] would like to see me slip-up a million times over, because he would probably prefer to fight Povetkin than fight me, because Tyson Fury knows. They call him The Gypsy King, I call him The Gypsy Coward,” said Whyte, pulling no punches.