Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte is an upcoming heavyweight professional boxing match contested between WBC and The Ring heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury, and WBC interim heavyweight champion, Dillian Whyte. The bout will take place on Saturday 23 April 2022 at Wembley Stadium in London, England.[1]
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| Date | 23 April 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Wembley Stadium, London, England | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBC and The Ring heavyweight titles | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Background
On 9 October 2021, undefeated WBC and The Ring heavyweight champion Tyson Fury defended his world titles against former WBC champion Deontay Wilder in their trilogy match, when he defeated Wilder via eleventh-round knockout in a widely acclaimed contest that was named The Ring magazine Fight of the Year 2021.[2] Fury's mandatory challenger, Dillian Whyte, had been scheduled to face southpaw Otto Wallin in a defence of his WBC interim title later that month on 30 October, but the fight was cancelled days beforehand after it was alleged that Whyte had suffered a shoulder injury, ruling him out of contention. He ultimately did not reschedule the fight with Wallin, opting to bypass Wallin for a shot at Fury's world titles.[3]
On 30 December 2021, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, who had ordered Fury to defend his WBC title against Whyte, ruled that the champion Fury would be entitled to 80% of the purse, compared to Whyte's 20% as the challenger.[4] Sulaiman had set a deadline of 11 January 2022 for purse bids, as the two fighters' camps could not agree to terms. However, this deadline was pushed back multiple times, in part due to ongoing negotiations from Fury's team who were trying to secure the fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship against undefeated WBA (Super), IBF and WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. A fight between Fury and Usyk did not materialise, as deposed former champion Anthony Joshua was unwilling to step aside to allow the two champions to fight.[5]
The deadline for the Fury-Whyte purse bids was ultimately scheduled for 28 January 2022, when it was announced that Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions had won the rights to promote the fight, with a winning bid of $41,025,000 (£31 million), beating out the $32,222,222 (£24 million) bid submitted by Eddie Hearn's Matchroom. Warren's bid was reported to be the highest successful purse bid in boxing history.[6][7] Fury reacted to the news, stating on social media that he is "coming home", suggesting that the fight against Whyte will be the first time he will box on U.K. soil since his August 2018 win against Francesco Pianeta.[8] On 25 February 2022, it was officially announced that the fight would be taking place at Wembley Stadium in London, England on 23 April.[1]
Fight card
| Weight Class | vs. | Method | Round | Time | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavyweight |  Tyson Fury (c)
|
vs. | Dillian Whyte
|
– (12) | Note 1 |
^Note 1 For WBC and The Ring heavyweight titles
Broadcasting
| Country/Region | Free-to-air | Cable/Satellite | Pay-per-view | Stream |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (Host)
|
— | BT Sport Box Office | ||
 Ireland
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 United States
|
— | ESPN PPV | ||
Notes
- ^ Listed by BoxRec as orthodox, but regularly switch hits as a southpaw.
References
- ^ a b "Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte to fight at Wembley Stadium on April 23 for WBC heavyweight championship". Sky Sports. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
- ^ "Tyson Fury KO 11 Deontay Wilder is The Ring Fight of the Year for 2021". The Ring. 29 December 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ "Dillian Whyte 'devastated' by cancellation of Otto Wallin fight after British heavyweight suffers shoulder injury". Sky Sports. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ Donovan, Jake. "Fury-Whyte Heads To January 11 Purse Bid; WBC Sets 80/20 Split". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ "Joshua step-aside talks break down". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ "Warren wins Fury v Whyte purse bids". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ "Tyson Fury to fight Dillian Whyte in WBC heavyweight championship fight". Sky Sports. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ Fury, Tyson (28 January 2022). "BIG GK IS COMING HOME! UK BABY!". Twitter. Retrieved 28 January 2022.