BOB Arum believes Tyson Fury will face Anthony Joshua BEFORE Dillian Whyte gets his long-awaited world title shot.
The WBC has ordered the winner of the trilogy bout between the Gypsy King and Deontay Wilder to face Whyte in their next outing.
Tyson Fury is contracted to fight Deontay Wilder for a third timeCredit: Reuters
Anthony Joshua is looking to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999Credit: Refer to Caption
Meanwhile Anthony Joshua has been ordered by the WBO to fight Oleksandr Usyk if he beats Kubrat Pulev.
Promoter Arum – who controls Fury’s affairs in the US – revealed last week that the Brit’s meeting with Wilder may be pushed back until February 2021.
However, Frank Warren has insisted that Fury would rather fight another opponent than to not compete at all again this year.
And now Arum has stated that he doesn’t believe Whyte will pose a threat to the mega-fight between Fury and Joshua.
Speaking to talkSPORT, he said: “I can’t talk for the WBC, I know based on my conversations with Mauricio [WBC chief Sulaiman] that if the fight had to be postponed to the beginning of February, that fight would go on.
“What then he would determine in terms of Whyte, he might say, ‘No, Fury if he beats Wilder will have to fight Whyte.’
BRITISH BEEF
“And therefore that would affect the Joshua fight, but again, one step at a time.
“All I know is that we are not ingrates. Tyson Fury, Top Rank, we were given the opportunity by Wilder… How do you turn your back on Wilder? That would be absolutely improper.”
Before adding: “Again, our goal is to do Fury and Wilder, and then if Fury wins, to go right to a Joshua fight plus a rematch.
“That’s where we stand. It would be an absolute travesty. All these mandatories, schmandatories. People are looking for what the public wants.
“If Joshua is successful against Pulev and Fury is successful against Wilder, then everybody on both sides of the pond will look at Fury and Joshua as the fight that they wanna see.
Fury’s US promoter Bob Arum is keen for the Gypsy King to face AJ ahead of Dillian WhyteCredit: Getty Images – Getty
“And they don’t care about a mandatories, whether it’s Usyk on the WBO side or Whyte on the WBC side. People don’t care, they would be outraged.
“Everybody wants to see, assuming they’re both successful in their next fights, Fury and Joshua for the undisputed heavyweight championship.
“I think the pressure from the public, the pressure from everybody will see that fight through.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk