Tweet
World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman is waiting for final confirmation of heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder's next title defense against Tyson Fury.
Wilder and Fury opened talks after Anthony Joshua's decision to reject an offer of $50m for the fight, with his biggest UK rival now set to fill the void in the Showtime Pay-Per-View slot.
The fight is pencilled in for November in Las Vegas and Sulaiman said he did all he could to help Wilder's quest to secure Joshua for a huge undisputed unification.
"The WBC has done everything possible to see this great fight happen. I will be thrilled to see it happen (one day), which is a must as that is what the fans of the world want," Sulaiman told Sky Sports.
"It seems that Wilder will fight Tyson Fury next. We are waiting for an official sanction request from the promoter," he added.
The WBC's mandatory situation will be placed on hold whilst Wilder and Fury lock horns this year, with Dominic Breazeale forced to wait his turn after earning his shot with a victory over Eric Molina.
Dillian Whyte, who currently holds the WBC Silver belt, is number one in the rankings, but as Sulaiman pointed out, was overlooked by the WBC for a future Wilder shot due to his failure to accept an eliminator fight with Luis Ortiz.
"The mandatory challenger is Dominic Breazeale," the WBC figurehead stated. "Last year he was contracted to fight a final elimination bout versus Bermane Stiverne.
"When Luis Ortiz could not fight Deontay Wilder, Bermane Stiverne got the fight and Breazeale was left with a contract. The replacement for Breazeale was Eric Molina.
"The condition was that if Breazeale won he would become mandatory as per the contract he had.
"Dillian Whyte is the WBC silver champion, but is not mandatory. The WBC offered him to fight a final elimination bout to enforce a second mandatory on the division against Luis Ortiz, but Whyte did not wish to fight such," said Sulaiman.
Whyte defeated Joseph Parker last month in London and has now set his sights on a WBA title shot at Manuel Charr in his bid to secure a quicker route to a Joshua rematch.
Wilder and Fury opened talks after Anthony Joshua's decision to reject an offer of $50m for the fight, with his biggest UK rival now set to fill the void in the Showtime Pay-Per-View slot.
The fight is pencilled in for November in Las Vegas and Sulaiman said he did all he could to help Wilder's quest to secure Joshua for a huge undisputed unification.
"The WBC has done everything possible to see this great fight happen. I will be thrilled to see it happen (one day), which is a must as that is what the fans of the world want," Sulaiman told Sky Sports.
"It seems that Wilder will fight Tyson Fury next. We are waiting for an official sanction request from the promoter," he added.
The WBC's mandatory situation will be placed on hold whilst Wilder and Fury lock horns this year, with Dominic Breazeale forced to wait his turn after earning his shot with a victory over Eric Molina.
Dillian Whyte, who currently holds the WBC Silver belt, is number one in the rankings, but as Sulaiman pointed out, was overlooked by the WBC for a future Wilder shot due to his failure to accept an eliminator fight with Luis Ortiz.
"The mandatory challenger is Dominic Breazeale," the WBC figurehead stated. "Last year he was contracted to fight a final elimination bout versus Bermane Stiverne.
"When Luis Ortiz could not fight Deontay Wilder, Bermane Stiverne got the fight and Breazeale was left with a contract. The replacement for Breazeale was Eric Molina.
"The condition was that if Breazeale won he would become mandatory as per the contract he had.
"Dillian Whyte is the WBC silver champion, but is not mandatory. The WBC offered him to fight a final elimination bout to enforce a second mandatory on the division against Luis Ortiz, but Whyte did not wish to fight such," said Sulaiman.
Whyte defeated Joseph Parker last month in London and has now set his sights on a WBA title shot at Manuel Charr in his bid to secure a quicker route to a Joshua rematch.
http://www.world boxingnews.net/2018080625096/news/wbc-president-confirms-deontay-wilder-v-tyson-fury-is-close-explains-why-dillian-whyte-is-not-mandatory
They sent Wilder a contract with Eddie Hearn's signature, AND they changed the terms.
Comment