Dillian Whyte is unhappy with the WBC. Back when he beat Lucas Browne in a fight that contested the WBC silver heavyweight belt, the British warrior felt he “was next in line” to fight WBC king Deontay Wilder. Yet now, to the dismay of both Whyte and his promoter Eddie Hearn, a fight with Luis Ortiz has been ordered. Worse still, even if Whyte were to get through the dangerous Cuban, he would still be a step behind Dominic Breazeale as far as getting that shot at Wilder.
Whyte, who recently stated how he felt “betrayed” by the governing body he has “always been loyal to,” is set to appeal.
“We’re going to appeal that. Mauricio Sulaiman said he would talk about it this week, and maybe post a resolution,” Hearn told Sky Sports when speaking on the Whyte situation. “We don’t mind fighting Ortiz but it has to be for the mandatory, not to be the ‘second mandatory’ behind a guy [Breazeale] who has never fought an eliminator and who is behind Whyte in the rankings. It’s outrageous.”
It’s also more than a little confusing. Breazeale, a good fighter, is ranked No-2 by the WBC, yet he is the current WBC mandatory contender. While Whyte is ranked No-1 by the WBC, yet he has to fight the ordered “second mandatory.” How successful the appeal will be is anyone’s guess.
Hearn, who recently said how he believes there is a “70-percent chance” the big Anthony Joshua-Deontay Wilder fight gets made next, told Sky Sports that if it doesn’t get made Wilder will fight Breazeale next instead.
“If Joshua doesn’t fight Wilder, then Wilder will fight Breazeale,” Hearn stated. “If Wilder fights Breazeale, he doesn’t need to be the mandatory. But Wilder’s team will want Breazeale to be the mandatory because there isn’t much credibility in the fight. Let that fight be a voluntary, then the winner of Whyte-Ortiz is the mandatory.”
But will the WBC play ball and give Hearn what he wants? In terms of the people that really matter, the fans, not too many of them would mind seeing Whyte and Ortiz go at it. Wilder recently declared how, in order to earn a shot at him, Whyte should take on and beat Ortiz the way he did. Whyte may well find himself trying to do so.
However, another route is open to Whyte: a fight with Kubrat Pulev, in an IBF-ordered final eliminator. Which route to a title shot would you take if you were Dillian Whyte?
