Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has called for Dillian Whyte to be “immediately reinstated” as the mandatory challenger for the WBC title.
Whyte was recently cleared by UK Anti-Doping after having his interim WBC heavyweight title revoked in July for allegedly failing a drug test.
The 31-year-old had provided a blood sample a month before his fight with Oscar Rivas which contained “trace amounts” of steroids, and following his decision win against the Colombian had his champion status provisionally suspended by UKAD pending investigation.
Having been exonerated of any wrongdoing just hours earlier, Whyte got back in the ring on Saturday 7 December to face Mariusz Wach on the undercard of Joshua vs Ruiz II.
He defeated Wach by unanimous decision to revive his title hopes and get his career back on track after the allegations.
‘Reinstate Him Immediately’
The WBC had said that should Whyte be cleared he could regain his status as mandatory challenger by 2021.
But Eddie Hearn believes Whyte should be reinstated immediately, and should be the mandatory opponent for the winner of Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury.
Wilder will face Fury on February 22, with the WBC heavyweight title on the line.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Hearn said: “Dillian should get the mandatory position for the winner of Wilder vs Fury,”
“We go back to the WBC now and make sure they give him what he was supposed to get.”
“In my opinion, they took it away unjustly, so now, bearing in mind the results of the case, they have to reinstate him immediately, and it should now come for the winner of that fight.”
‘Hell’
After beating Wach in Saudi Arabia, Whyte also believes he has the right to a title challenge. He came out to speak about the recent dark period in his career and says his last two fights have been ‘hell’. He told Sky Sports:
“We’ve been loyal to the WBC and fought back-to-back top ten contenders, They were very quick to take me out of the mandatory position, they should now remove that 2021 nonsense and put me back in. Forget Tyson Fury, what has he done?”
“My last two fights have been hell – I won them, but they were hell.”
“The Rivas fight? I didn’t sleep for 48 hours before. I couldn’t sleep because I knew what was going on. I’d sold tickets and wondered if the show would go on.”
“Pure madness, pure madness. It was crazy.”
“I’m a tough person, a strong person. My team kept me motivated and said: ‘let’s get through this’. ‘You’re innocent, we’ll fight this’.”
“Everyone was quick to throw me in a hole with no evidence and no facts. The facts are that I’m clean, I’ve always been clean and I’ve always been innocent.”
Following UKAD’s decision to withdraw all charges, ‘The Body Snatcher’ took to social media with a strong message for those who doubted him, writing: “For those who believed in me I won’t forget you. To those who didn’t, I won’t forgive you and I know who you are.”
Decision Time
Whyte’s record now stands at 27-1 with Anthony Joshua still the only man to beat him in the ring.
It’s now down to the WBC to make a decision regarding his mandatory challenger status.
(Featured image source: Instagram/ Deontay Wilder, Dillian Whyte and Tyson Fury)