Promoter Eddie Hearn announced Thursday that Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora will fight again December 22 at O2 Arena in London. Hearn had said for several weeks that he thought a deal would get done for a rematch between these British heavyweights.
“BREAKING … Nearly two years ago they treated us to a heavyweight classic,” Hearn wrote in a Tweet. “Now, coming off the biggest wins of their career @DillianWhyte and @DerekWarChisora do it all over again. Dec 22 @TheO2 – The brawl to settle it all!”
The Jamaican-born, London-based Whyte (24-1, 17 KOs) defeated former WBO heavyweight champ Joseph Parker (24-2, 18 KOs) by unanimous decision in his last fight. Whyte survived serious 12th-round trouble, including a knockdown, and dropped Parker twice on his way to winning a unanimous decision July 28 at O2 Arena.
On the undercard that night, the Zimbabwe-born Chisora (29-8, 21 KOs) dropped Cameroon’s Carlos Takam (35-5-1, 27 KOs) twice in the eighth round and stopped him.
Talk of their rematch began immediately, but Whyte also is in position to get a much more lucrative rematch against Anthony Joshua. Whyte, 30, is the WBO’s mandatory challenger for Joshua.
If Whyte defeats Chisora again, he could challenge Joshua (22-0, 21 KOs) for Joshua’s IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles April 13 at Wembley Stadium in London.
Joshua knocked out Whyte in the seventh round of their first fight in December 2015 in Manchester, England.
Whyte won his first fight versus Chisora by split decision in December 2016, also in Manchester. He edged Chisora, 34, on two scorecards (115-114, 115-113) in December 2016, but lost their 12-rounder on another card (115-114).
–Boxingscene
