DILLIAN WHYTE is in a bitter row with Tyson Fury’s promoter Frank Warren over today’s ticket launch press conference – with the challenger claiming he did not receive a proper invite.
Whyte, 33, will not break from his gruelling Portugal training camp to be at today’s event at Wembley, where the April 23 showdown will take place.
And his lawyer has claimed his big-fight silence is in response to his treatment from rival promoter Warren, who won the £30million purse bid and right to hold the fight.
Lawyer and business adviser, Jeffrey Benz told SunSport: “Dillian Whyte would have been more than happy to attend the ticket launch event but was not able to reach agreement with Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions on even his very basic requirements which are normal in the sport of boxing.
“But they didn’t even given us notice of where and when this one-sided shindig will occur. It really is incredible.
“We are dealing with dinosaurs here. They bid $41m for a fight but are all over the place. They haven’t even met Dillian’s basic requirements which are entirely usual and nothing out of the ordinary.”
But veteran promoter Warren has now hit back at the claims and insists Whyte was told about the event last week – and even offered a private jet to get there.
A statemement from his Queensberry Promotions read: “Tyson Fury will be at Wembley today, Dillian Whyte will not, despite being notified of the date last week and before the official announcement was made on Friday.
“Dillian has contractual obligations that include co-operation in respect of the promotion of the fight.
“Dillian seems to have a raft of excuses for not turning up today, none of which hold water in circumstances where the parties have their rights and obligations defined by the contract Dillan has signed.
“For the record, Queensberry offered to fly Dillian and his team by private jet to London today so he could make the press conference, an offer they refused and that we were not obliged to make.
“We also offered to meet with his advisor to discuss matters including ticket requests, but it seems they’re more interested in influencing public opinion than fulfilling what we say are contractual obligations and giving fans the chance to see him and Tyson face off today.”
Whyte’s team deny this claim that they were offered the chance for talks – and say the offer was revoked at the last minute.
Team Whyte advisor Benz had earlier laid out the list of alleged reasons their Sky Sports PPV star will not pose for photos or play ball.
The Los Angeles-based 53-year-old claimed: “Dillian has been given no guarantee or escrow that he will actually get paid for fighting.
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“Queensberry haven’t offered him a complimentary ticket allocation as is standard – not even a single ticket for his mother – or any opportunity to buy any for his family, friends or extended team
“They won’t advise on whether and to what extent Fury is subject to anti-doping testing by UKAD or other bodies in the same way that Dillian is regularly tested by both UKAD and VADA.
“They have so far failed to commence enhanced VADA testing as Dillian requested in the signed contract over a week ago.
“They used artwork with a photo of Dillian and didn’t seek his consent or even feature him accurately with his WBC world championship belt.
“And, bizarrely, they won’t even tell him the size of the ring that he will be competing in.”
Queensbury Promotions are now missing out on the huge boost Whyte would bring in view of his track record in big-fight build-ups.
The Brixton ace dragged Anthony Joshua into a thrilling 2015 battle with expert mind games and kept ice cool when Derek Chisora launched a table at his head.
Benz said the silent Body Snatcher even fears Fury will pull out of the fight.
He added: “Dillian is chomping at the bit to fight Fury, even though he feels Fury doesn’t want to fight him and fears that he will pull out late in the day with a lame excuse like a broken fingernail or a nettle sting in view of his track record.
“Dillian is keen to fight in spite of the unlawfully low split afforded to him in the purse bid by the WBC, which he is appealing and which will ultimately be subject to a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the leading global arbitration body for sports related disputes based in Switzerland.
“Ask yourself, why is he going to interrupt his camp, and risk covid and travel complications, when he has been the number one challenger since 2017 and waited longer than anyone in the history of the sport for his full world title fight?
“With seven-and-a-half weeks to go, the fight is not a long way off now, so there is no need for Dillian to interrupt his camp for one or two days for a ticket launch event, especially when they have the self-proclaimed best heavyweight of all time Tyson Fury pushing the event.
“No doubt it sells out in seconds and that must be why they can’t even spare a single ticket for Dillian’s mum.
“But everything is becoming an obstacle, everything is a diversion tactic or a stumbling block, even the most basic things. There is so little trust and faith over so many matters, they are nickle-and-diming us on everything.
“Fans need to ask why they have put up this big purse but then are scrimping on making the ticket launch event a big success.
“Dillian is disappointed but he has not been dealt with professionally and people should be more concerned with the promoters taking this fight seriously and delivering a fan experience that the fee paying fans deserve.”
He added: “It is naiive of the promoters not to make real efforts to involve Dillian fully in the build-up.
“Dillian is obviously disappointed and will focus his energies on fight night.
“But if the promotion flops, I don’t want to hear any whinging from the Fury and Warren camps as they are over 21 and have been warned that you can only make so much noise clapping with just one hand.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
