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Dillian Whyte refusing to attend Tyson Fury fight press conference, promoter Bob Arum claims

Whyte has been largely silent since securing a WBC title fight against champion Fury

Alex Pattle
Combat Sports Correspondent
Tuesday 01 March 2022 09:39 GMT
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Tyson Fury confirms date of fight with Dillian Whyte

Dillian Whyte will not attend Tuesday’s press conference for his upcoming fight with Tyson Fury, according to promoter Bob Arum.

The press conference at Wembley Stadium marks the first opportunity for Whyte to go face-to-face with WBC heavyweight champion Fury, but the challenger will miss the event, Arum said.

Arum, who works as Fury’s US promoter, told Boxing Scene: “[Whyte] will not come to the press conference.

“We won the purse bid, which was way higher than the next biggest bid, and he’s not coming to the press conference because we wouldn’t give him a percentage of the upside [from pay-per-view sales], which you don’t get in a purse bid.

“He told us he won’t come to any of the press conferences except the last one.”

Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs), who is mandatory challenger to Fury and holds the WBC’s interim belt, will challenge his fellow Briton at Wembley Stadium on 23 April. The “Bodysnatcher” has been training for the bout in Portugal, where he lives.

The 33-year-old last fought in March 2021, knocking out Alexander Povetkin to avenge his own stoppage loss to the Russian from August 2020.

Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs), meanwhile, retained the WBC title and remained unbeaten by knocking out Deontay Wilder in October. It was the second fight in a row that the “Gypsy King” had stopped the American, with whom he fought to a controversial split draw in the rivals’ first clash.

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