Tyson Fury says it would be “very special” to box Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium, although Fury’s promoters, Frank Warren and Bob Arum, are still waiting for Whyte to return a signed contract.
Wembley, the national football stadium, has now become the most likely venue for Fury-Whyte, with April 23 the target date.
“If it was Wembley Stadium, it would be a very special moment for me, very special,” Fury said.
“It has been a while. I have been busy cracking America and taking over out there. I have been successful but now it is time to come home and give the fans a well-earned fight at home.
“It is four years since I last fought here, I have been out and conquered America instead, won the belt and became a massive pay-per-view star. I am back in the UK for the first time in a long time and the fans deserve to see me back on home soil.
“The Joshua fight has fallen completely out of bed at the minute, nobody even seems to believe in him anymore. So, Dillian Whyte is the next back challenger for me, in this country, so I am just grateful I have got a dance partner on St George’s Day.
“I don’t hate Dillian Whyte and he don’t hate me, I am going to make him a lot of money, more than he could have made in a million lifetimes. He should admire me and I have respect for him as my WBC mandatory challenger.”
With Whyte seemingly reluctant to sign the contract, the WBC have set a February 19 deadline for Whyte to return the contract. So far there has only been silence from the Londoner.
“I think not talking is pathetic, we are here to talk-up and sell one of the biggest fights in British boxing history and he needs to play his part,” Fury said.
“They keep going about the money and percentages but this little shit is getting, he is getting eight times more than I got when I beat Wladimir (Klitschko) - and I was 20 times more popular than him for that fight, undefeated, mandatory with both the WBO and the WBA, and a had won three world title eliminators.
“This sucker has done nothing but get chinned by a 45-year-old man and he is getting eight times more than me, it’s a lottery win. He would be very sensible to take his money before he loses it. It is like this idiot has won the Euro Lottery.”
Fury cannot hold back his disdain towards Whyte and Joshua, though, after a potential step-aside deal that would have allowed Fury to face Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight title fell apart.
“These men are cowards,” Fury said. “I cannot say it about Wilder can I? Because he took the fight three times and never wanted step-aside money.
“This coward has been waiting 1,200 days for his title shot but was then licking his lips for step-aside money. Joshua is a coward too because he wanted that 15 million to step-aside and then he came back and asked for another 5 mill. Whyte is a coward but Joshua is a greedy coward.
“I don’t care what they say because Joshua and Hearn are just vipers, snakes in the grass, reptilians. I have cost them all that money and I take pride it in at as well, thank you very much. They know not to cross me anymore, because I am driving this ship and it’s full of sharks out there.”
Ron Lewis is a senior writer for BoxingScene. He was Boxing Correspondent for The Times, where he worked from 2001-2019 - covering four Olympic Games and numerous world title fights across the globe. He has written about boxing for a wide variety of publications worldwide since the 1980s.