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
John Fury at the open workouts:
“If I see something I’m not comfortable with, I’ll have a word with Sugarhill [Steward, Fury’s head coach] on the quiet – not in front of Tyson. Not to take anything away from Sugarhill; I’ve not seen much that Sugarhill’s missed.
“Credit to Sugarhill and George Lockhart – the food man. Everybody’s mucked in together and done everything expertly.”
Fury vs Whyte
John Fury at the open workouts:
“We don’t do losing; Tyson doesn’t lose, he’s come too far.
“Work hard, fight easy.”
Fury vs Whyte
John Fury at the open workouts:
“My sons have got thick skin. I train the mind as well as the body with Tommy. I told him: ‘Even bad press is good press; when people stop talking about you, that’s when you’ve got a problem. Absorb it, take it on, it makes you stronger.’”
Fury vs Whyte
John Fury at the open workouts:
“It’s been a close camp, tight-knit show. The only people that’ve been in camp are those that have been needed. It’s been injury-free, a jolly camp. For once we’ve had plain sailing, and I think you’re gonna see the best Tyson Fury – and Tommy.”
Fury vs Whyte
John Fury at the open workouts:
“Tyson’s helping people outside the ring with mental-health problems. If you’ve got a problem outside the ring, no matter what it is, Tyson’s doing this for you. Enjoy every minute of it, we’re doing great things in the ring and even better stuff outside of it.”
Fury vs Whyte
Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte will be conducting open workouts at Wembley Boxpark very shortly, with John Fury on hand to provide some zingers, no doubt.
We’ll keep you updated.
Fury vs Whyte
Some news relating to this year’s other major heavyweight title fight...
Eddie Hearn has insisted that Anthony Joshua’s rematch with Oleksandr Usyk is “all agreed”, despite the delay in securing a location for the heavyweight title fight.
“The fight’s all done, it’s all agreed,” Hearn told talkSPORT on Tuesday. “It’s 100 per cent Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk, the rematch.
“We’re finalising the location at the moment, his team are in London this week, so we’re gonna sit down with them,” Hearn added, confirming a suggestion by Usyk’s promoter Alexander Krassyuk that he and Usyk’s manager Egis Klimas will be ringside for Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte.
“I think in two weeks time we’ll finalise the date. It will be July, and hopefully AJ can become a three-time heavyweight world champion.”
More here:
Eddie Hearn: Joshua vs Usyk ‘all agreed’ despite delay in securing location
Fury vs Whyte
“Tyson Fury arguably eclipsed Anthony Joshua as the household name in British boxing.
“Fury, 33, returned to the sport in 2018 after three years off due to a long struggle with his mental health.
“Since then, he has established himself as one of the greatest heavyweights of all time, dethroning Deontay Wilder to become WBC champion in the pair’s 2020 rematch, having controversially drawn with the American in their first clash, in 2018.
“In his most recent bout, Fury stopped Wilder for the second fight in a row to retain the belt.
“A creative fighter who has demonstrated remarkable resilience and heart in the ring, Fury previously held the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO titles and looks destined to regain them and reign as undisputed champion in the future. First, however, he must defend his WBC belt against Dillian Whyte.”
Here’s what we had to say about Fury in our men’s pound-for-pound boxing list. But where does the “Gypsy King” rank?
Find out here:
Fury vs Whyte
Tyson Fury says retirement is not on his mind ahead of this week’s world heavyweight title fight with Dillian Whyte.
Fury has said more than once in the build-up to the Wembley showdown that he intends to quit boxing after fighting Whyte, but the champion played down that narrative this week.
“I am only thinking about Dillian Whyte at this moment, I am not thinking about retirement,” Fury said.
“That will all come after I have had the fight and we will think about what is to come, what the future holds for me.
“At the minute I have a massive task in Dillian. A lot of people are underestimating Dillian Whyte – but not me.”
More from Fury here:
Tyson Fury ‘not thinking about retirement’ ahead of Dillian Whyte fight
Fury vs Whyte
Frank Bruno believes Tyson Fury will find his sold-out Wembley showdown with Dillian Whyte “more awkward” than a potential fight against Anthony Joshua.
World heavyweight champion Fury has dubbed Saturday’s clash with mandatory WBC challenger Whyte the biggest British bout since boxing great Bruno was defeated by Lennox Lewis 29 years ago.
Undefeated Fury is a heavy favourite this weekend but former champion Bruno feels Whyte – who earlier this year was expected to step aside and allow his opponent an undisputed championship encounter with Usyk – is capable of causing an upset.
“You’ve really got to give Whyte credit where credit’s due because I think they wanted to wipe him off and get him out the way,” Bruno told the PA news agency.
“But I think this is one of the awkwardest [sic] out of the lot...”
More from Bruno here:
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