World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman clarified that the winner of the third fight between WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and challenger Deontay Wilder, will be required to make the mandatory defense against Dillian Whyte.
Whyte recently took legal action against the sanctioning body, to prevent them from delaying his mandatory shot – which is due by the end of February 2021.
However, in recent weeks Fury and his promoters have expressed very little interest in facing Whyte in the first quarter of 2021.
Fury and his promoters would much rather finalize a two-fight agreement to face WBO, IBF, WBA champion Anthony Joshua.
The trilogy between Fury and Wilder is currently targeted for a date in December.
According to Sulaiman, the winner would have to satisfy the mandatory obligation to Whyte.
Whyte has an upcoming fight in August with former world champion Alexander Povetkin. An upset win by Povetkin would certainly derail the mandatory order.
And there is always the possibility of the Fury-Wilder winner vacating the title or filing a request with the WBC to receive the status of ‘franchise champion’ – which in turn would automatically elevate Whyte from interim to full champion.
“The position is clear and we have been clear, since the order of the mandates were announced. Tyson Fury won the title as the official challenger on February 22 of this year, with his next mandate being due in February 2021. The WBC understands that Fury will make the third fight with Wilder and the winner will have to make the mandatory defense against the official challenger,” Sulaiman told ESPN Deportes.
–boxingscene.com
