ALL eyes are on Wembley Stadium tonight as Tyson Fury faces Dillian Whyte in front of a British-record crowd.
The pair have weighed in at a combined 37 stones for the huge WBC heavyweight title clash.
Fury, 33, is the reigning WBC heavyweight champion after back-to-back victories over Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas, and now faces Whyte at Wembley in the biggest sporting event of the year so far.
The Gypsy King retained his crown by emphatic knockout back in October last year, with unification against then-champ Anthony Joshua eyed up.
AJ was to ultimately lose his own title defence to Oleksandr Usyk and a rematch was delayed by Usyk’s decision to fight for Ukraine against Russia.
Fury’s attention therefore turned to mandatory challenger Whyte, 34, as he puts his belt on the line once again.
Fury said as the fight was announced: “I’m coming home baby. Get ready for the biggest British dust-up since Lennox Lewis vs Frank Bruno. History in the making.”
Exclusive radio coverage is available on talkSPORT with coverage starting at 7.30pm.
And Whyte, 34, wrote on Twitter on last week: “I’m ready. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone on the 23rd of April @wembleystadium. LetsGooo!!!!”
WBC mandatory challenger Whyte will earn around £6million for his participation, with Fury set to bank a much meatier £23.5m.
What time does Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte start?
- Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte will take place TONIGHT – April 23.
- The start time has been CONFIRMED as 10pm UK time – 5pm ET.
- Fury hasn’t fought in the UK since 2018 when he faced Sefer Seferi in Manchester and then Francesco Pianeta in Belfast.
What is the fight venue?
- Fury vs Whyte will take place at Wembley Stadium in London.
- Fury hasn’t fought in London since a win over Christian Hammer in 2015.
- Whyte has never fought at Wembley Stadium before, but is used to competing in London.
- The fight will be a record 94,000-capacity sell-out event after extra seats were released last week.
What TV channel and live stream is Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte on?
BT Sport Box Office will broadcast the fight in the UK, with ESPN+ showing the event in the US.
BT wrote in a tweet to confirm the news: “The time for talking is over! After years of back and forth, the heavyweight showdown is on!”
The event will cost £24.95 on BT Sport, which was the price of Fury’s last two clashes with Deontay Wilder on the channel.
Exclusive radio coverage is available on talkSPORT with coverage starting at 7.30pm.
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Who is fighting on the undercard?
- MAIN CARD: Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte
- Ekow Essuman vs Darren Tetley
- Isaac Lowe vs Nick Ball
- David Adeleye vs Chris Healey
- Tommy Fury vs Daniel Bocianski
- Karol Itauma vs Michal Ciach
- Royston Barney-Smith vs Michael Walton
- Kurt Walker vs Stefan Nicolae
What did Fury and Whyte weigh in as?
Fury came in at 18st 12lbs, almost a stone heavier than his opponent Whyte (18st 1lb).
Though that is nearly a stone lighter than the 276lbs the Gypsy king came in for his last fight against Deontay Wilder.
What they said
Tyson Fury: “I see these long Whyte betting odds and laugh, he is a tough man.
“I think we are in for a real treat on Saturday night and it is coming quickly.”
Whyte: “I have done 12 long rounds before and I can do it again. We have worked hard and I am willing to do whatever it takes.
“I am not scared to take risks, this is nothing new to me.”
Dillian Whyte: “I have had 6-7 PPV fights and I am ready to do the same again.
“I wil show up, do my job and disappear off into the night as always.
“Everything else will fall into place afterwards.
“It’s cost me a fortune in legal battles to get this fight so I need to get this money back!”
“This fight means everything to me, Wembley is not that far from where I am from.
“I was not expected to live this long, I have taken risk after risk and I am ready to go.
“You will hear no bulls*** from me”.
What are Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte’s records?
Tyson Fury comes into this fight with a record of 31-0-1.
The Gypsy King has never been beaten, which allowed him to retain the title of lineal champion even when he was stripped of his belts in 2015 for failing to fight Wladimir Klitschko in a rematch.
The one fight Fury failed to win was his first bout against Deontay Wilder in 2018, when he dominated the fight before being knocked down in the 12th round and narrowly beating the count.
Judges scored that fight a draw, though many felt Fury had won.
However, Fury left judges in no doubt as to the result in his second and third fights against Wilder, stopping the American in the 7th and 11th rounds in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
Dillian Whyte’s record is 28-2.
The Body Snatcher suffered his first defeat in 2015 when he was stopped by Anthony Joshua.
Whyte was then on the end of a shock fifth round stoppage against Alexander Povetkin in 2020.
But he would go on to avenge this defeat in Gibraltar a year later, stopping the Russian in the fourth.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk