The Extended Negotiations Between Team Fury and Whyte Drag Out Even Longer
Well, the seemingly never-ending negotiations between WBC heavyweight champion Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury (31-0-1, 22 KO’s) and interim WBC heavyweight champion Dillian “The Body Snatcher” Whyte (28-2, 19 KO’s) has just added another chapter. This is because the WBC has officially extended their free negotiation period. If the two camps continue to find no resolution, the bout will be sent to purse bid on Friday, January 21. When initially ordered by the WBC, it seemed that this would have been an easy process.
Whyte has been clamoring for a shot at the WBC title for the last several years. In fact, when the Body Snatcher began his quest, the title was then wrapped around Deontay Wilder’s waist. Regardless of how long he had waited however, when the opportunity to face Fury for the belt presented itself, Whyte became finicky at the negotiation table. At least that is what legendary hall of fame promoter Bob Arum will have you believe. So by the looks of it, this bout will be heading to purse bid shortly.
WAITING GAME EXPERT
Whether he likes it or not, Fury should be getting habituated to fight negotiation snafus. The talkative champ has now had notable issues in his last two, technically three, bouts. The Gypsy King’s second bout with Wilder was heavily drawn out due to complications resulting from revenue-killing COVID pandemic restrictions.
Their third installment was even zanier. This is because Fury initially attempted to walk away from the trilogy with Wilder and stage a mega-bout for undisputed with then unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. Had the fight taken place, it stood to be one of the highest grossing bouts in boxing today. Fury and Joshua were well on their way to staging their match before fate stepped in. Unwilling to be ignored, Wilder enacted the arbitration clause in their previous contract.
Eventually, Wilder won the arbitration, killed the Fury vs Joshua prizefight and got his third fight. Once in the ring though, the Bronze Bomber was soundly beaten and stopped, once again. Having had all these issues in the recent past, and losing the payday, should make these extended talks and a standard purse bid with Whyte a walk in the park for Fury. Yet, for the time being, we have no other choice but to sit tight and see how these talks conclude themselves. Let’s just hope they wrap up sooner rather than later.
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By: Bakari Simpson
