Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte - news: Latest build-up to heavyweight title fight
The pair face off in a long-awaited, all-British clash at Wembley Stadium this Saturday
We are just three days away from a huge heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte, with the pair set to main event at Wembley Stadium with the WBC belt on the line.
The all-British bout, one of the biggest in the nation’s history in the sport, marks Fury’s second defence of the title that he won from Deontay Wilder in the rivals’ second in-ring meeting. By stopping the American in the 11th round last October, Fury retained the belt, and former sparring partner Whyte is his next challenger. Whyte, 34, last competed in March 2021, knocking out Alexander Povetkin to avenge his own stoppage loss to the Russian from August 2020.
As inactive as Whyte has been in the ring since, he has been similarly inactive outside of it, refusing to attend last month’s pre-fight press conference. The “Bodysnatcher” finally broke his silence this week, however, playing down the mind games of Fury, 33, by saying: “He can’t get in my head. Even if he gets in my head, he’s only gonna find a lot of disturbance in there.” Open workouts took place today, and we’ll bring you all the latest news and previews ahead of the fight.
Follow all the build-up to Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte, below.
Fury vs Whyte
Tyson Fury’s sparring partner Joseph Parker, who was outpointed by Dillian Whyte:
“This is the best I’ve seen [Fury], just in terms of he’s relaxed, he’s calm, he’s ready to go in there and do the job.
“I have first-hand experience of how good [Whyte] is. Of course he can land his shots if Tyson is complacent and lets him, but I just think Tyson’s gonna stop him between Rounds 5 and 9.”
Fury vs Whyte
John Fury on Tyson’s tactics:
“He told me: ‘I’ll tell you after Round 1 what I’m going to do.’”
Fury vs Whyte
Telegraph journalist Gareth A Davies is speaking to John Fury and has suggested that Dillian Whyte will not be present today.
Fury vs Whyte
Jake Paul’s sparring partner Anthony Taylor insists ‘nobody’ Tommy Fury has blown his chance to fight with Jake Paul.
Taylor went the distance with Fury in Cleveland last August but was defeated via unanimous decision. Former Love Island star Fury was fighting on the undercard of Paul, who beat Tyron Woodley in the main event.
The undefeated 7-0 younger brother of Tyson Fury was supposed to meet the 5-0 “Problem Child” in December but had to withdraw from the fight due to a bacterial chest infection and broken rib.
Paul’s sparring partner Taylor now says Fury has missed his opportunity to fight rival Paul.
Here’s what Taylor told My Betting Sites ahead of Fury’s clash with Daniel Bocianski on Saturday:
Tommy Fury has ‘blown chance’ to fight Jake Paul, says former opponent
Anthony Taylor, a sparring partner of Paul, was outpointed by Fury last year
Fury vs Whyte
David Adeleye takes on Chris Healey in a heavyweight contest on Saturday.
Adeleye has been a training partner of Tyson Fury during the WBC champion’s camp for his clash with Dillain Whyte.
Adeleye says he is predicting a stoppage by Fury.
Fury vs Whyte
Full card
Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte (WBC heavyweight title)
Anthony Cacace vs Jonathan Romero (vacant WBO International super-featherweight title)
Isaac Lowe vs Nick Ball (vacant WBC Silver featherweight title)
David Adeleye vs Chris Healey (heavyweight)
Tommy Fury vs Daniel Bocianski (light heavyweight)
Karol Itauma vs Michael Ciach (light-heavyweight)
Kurt Walker vs Stefan Nicolae (super-featherweight)
Royston Barney-Smith vs Constantin Radoi (super-featherweight)
Fury vs Whyte
What are the odds?
Tyson Fury – 1/7
Dillian Whyte – 4/1
Draw – 25/1
How much will the fighters earn?
Fury’s promoter Frank Warren won the purse bid with his effort of approximately £30million, which beat the £23m put forward by Whyte’s promoter Eddie Hearn. Both were record bids in the entire history of boxing.
An 80/20 per cent purse split was agreed in favour of champion Fury, though the split only relates to 90 per cent of the overall winning bid (£27m) – because the promoter must deposit the other 10 per cent.
As such, Fury will thus take home approximately £21.5m, while Whyte receives around £5.5m.
The winner will receive the 10 per cent deposit (£3m).
What are the fighters’ records?
Fury, 33, is unbeaten at 31-0-1 (22 knockouts), with a controversial split draw in his first fight with Deontay Wilder giving way to stoppage wins against the American in the “Gypsy King”’s two most recent bouts.
Whyte, 34, has a professional record of (28-2, 19 KOs). He last fought in March 2021, knocking out Alexander Povetkin to avenge his own stoppage loss to the Russian from August 2020.
Fury vs Whyte
Here’s some key info around Saturday’s fight while we wait for Fury and Whyte to conduct their open workouts...
When is it?
The fight will take place on Saturday 23 April.
The first fight will begin at 6pm BST, with coverage starting from 7pm. The ring walks for the main event are expected to take place shortly after 10pm BST.
Where will it take place?
The fight will take place at Wembley Stadium in London, marking Fury’s first contest on home soil since 2018.
At least 90,000 fans are expected to fill the venue, though extra tickets were recently released.
The maximum capacity at the stadium is approximately 100,000.
How can I watch it?
In the UK, the event will air exclusively on BT Sport Box Office at a cost of £24.95.
In the US, ESPN+ will stream the action live at a cost of $69.99
Fury vs Whyte
Tyson Fury is in the building, shouting down at John Fury from the upstairs section at Wembley Boxpark.
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