Eddie Hearn has denied Dillian Whyte is avoiding Tyson Fury after the WBC heavyweight champion accused his challenger of going “silent”.
Whyte has not spoken publicly recently about his fight against Fury, which will be promoted by Fury’s team of Frank Warren and Bob Arum after purse bids were belatedly held last Friday.
Whyte’s silence caused Fury to say that the “Bodysnatcher” needs to “come out of hiding”, accusing the 33-year-old of being a “coward”.
Hearn has now suggested that Whyte, a client of his Matchroom Sport promotion agency, is employing a sound strategy and is focused on “training” as the pair seek to iron out the final details of a high-profile heavyweight meeting.
“As of this morning, we haven’t received a contract. That’s not unusual, but we don’t have it,” Hearn explained to The MMA Hour on Wednesday.
“It’s a process you go through. Someone said to me I’ve gone quiet, but I lost the purse bid; it’s not my fight to promote.
“[Whyte] has just chilled and is training. There’s a way to deal with Fury and sometimes going on the quiet side is decent.
“Do you really want to get in a slanging match with Fury and use all that energy? Do your work, do your training and go and try and knock him out.”
Hearn also ruled out the fight falling through at the last moment, saying: “There are no conversations about another direction, this is the only direction, this is the fight.”
The fight had appeared in some doubt as negotiations over a deal that would have seen Anthony Joshua step aside to allow Fury to take on Oleksandr Usyk advanced last week.
However, these talks collapsed after Joshua requested more money to part with his mandatory rematch against the Ukrainian.
While Whyte is still understood to be unhappy with an 80-20 split of the purse in favour of the champion, a stadium fight in the United Kingdom is expected to take place, with a date of 23 April heavily rumoured.
The Principality Stadium in Cardiff had been strongly tipped as a possible venue, though it is now reported that Wembley in London may now be favoured.
