PROMOTER Eddie Hearn has named American Chris Arreola as the ‘frontrunner’ to be the next man to face Dillian Whyte.
The Brixton Bodysnatcher, 33, is looking for his next opponent as he continues his pursuit of getting a shot at becoming heavyweight world champ.
Speaking to talkSPORT, Hearn said: “With everything opening up, [it’s] the opportunity for him to fight at the O2 again.
“It’s been over two years since he’s boxed in the UK in front of fans. Chris Arreola is probably the frontrunner.”
Whyte’s last fight in front of a UK crowd was against Oscar Rivas at London’s O2 Arena in July 2019.
Since then he’s fought Mariusz Wach in Saudi Arabia and Alexander Povetkin twice, once in Hearn’s garden and once in Gibraltar.
Whyte lost his first fight against Povetkin – just the second defeat of his career – but redeemed himself by winning the rematch in March.
Arreola, 40, has challenged for the world heavyweight title three times and has fought Andy Ruiz Jr, Deontay Wilder and Vitali Klitschko.
JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET A FREE £10 BONUS WITH 100s OF GAMES TO PLAY AND NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED (Ts&Cs apply)
Hearn added: “That’s the fight I like because Arreola brings a war every time he fights, he just had a great fight with Andy Ruiz, and Dillian wants to fight Andy Ruiz.
“So that would be a good statement to fight him.
“We’re gonna do another massive show at the O2, we’ve got a press conference tomorrow to announce some interesting news as well.
“Dillian Whyte back doing what he does best in all-out wars at the O2 as normality is upon us.”
Discussing Whyte’s chances at securing a world title fight, Hearn said: “I don’t think he’s ever been content because we all feel like we haven’t got what’s fair with the WBC.
“But it’s like a broken record, isn’t it? That will play on in the background legally, but he’s got to go out and do what he does.
“Fight, entertain, have fun, keep pushing his cause.
“Fights like Arreola – that will be picked up on a significant level in America – are gonna keep pushing his profile and pushing the fact that he deserves a shot at the world title.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
