Fury must face Whyte in next defence: WBC
The WBC said Whyte has now been installed as mandatory challenger to Fury.
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - World heavyweight champion Tyson Fury must face Dillian Whyte in his next title defence following a ruling on Tuesday by the World Boxing Council (WBC).
The WBC said Whyte has now been installed as mandatory challenger to Fury, who retained his crown with a thrilling knockout victory over Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas in October.
"The WBC hereby orders the start of the free negotiations period pursuant to the WBC Rules & Regulations for the mandatory bout between WBC World Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury and Mandatory Challenger and WBC Interim World Champion Dillian Whyte," the WBC said in a statement on Twitter.
The WBC initially said in October Fury would only have to face Whyte if he was unable to arrange an undisputed world title fight with Ukraine s Oleksandr Usyk, the unified WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion.
However after the 30-day window for Fury and Usyk to agree terms expired, the WBC have now moved to install Whyte as Fury s next opponent.
Whyte last month accused Fury of "running away" from a planned showdown.
"Fury has been mandated to fight me twice... he just keeps making excuses," Whyte told Sky Sports.
"Hopefully now he s got no choice. What s he going to do? Throw the belt in the bin and run away from more money than he got to fight Wilder?"
Usyk is expected to face a rematch against former champion Anthony Joshua in early 2022. Usyk outclassed Joshua in September to dethrone the former unified champion.
