Frank Warren has warned Dillian Whyte he is in danger of blowing his world title shot against Tyson Fury and a potential record £18million purse.
Warren is frustrated by Whyte’s delay in signing the contract to fight Fury after he won the purse bid to stage the WBC heavyweight contest.
Whyte has earned his shot as the WBC’s mandatory challenger and the sanctioning body have given both sides until Saturday to put pen to paper.
Warren has reserved April 23 at Wembley for the showdown and can’t understand Whyte’s dithering when he has offered him a career-best purse of £6million plus another £12million if he beats Fury.
“If he doesn’t sign he’s out,” said Fury’s co-promoter. “Those were the terms of the purse bid.
“Why wouldn’t he sign? He’s getting a massive purse, it makes no sense for him not to sign.
“February 19 is the absolute deadline according to the WBC. Those was the terms of the purse bid.
“From the day of the purse bid, there were 21 days to lodge the contract.”
Whyte is unhappy with the 80-20 purse split ordered by the WBC and his side are delaying signing in an attempt to squeeze more cash out of Warren.
Warren is dealing directly with Whyte’s lawyer and has told rival promoter Eddie Hearn to butt out.
Warren is irritated by Hearn’s public pronouncements on the negotiations when the Matchroom supremo is not involved in the promotion.
“We’re not dealing with him, we’re dealing with Dillian Whyte ’s lawyer,” said the Queensberry Promotions chief. “He has no involvement unless we’re told otherwise.
“We’ve been dealing and negotiating with his lawyer, and that’s it.
“Hearn has a lot of things to say, he said Tyson was never going to fight Deontay Wilder the first time. He said he wasn’t going to show up, he doesn’t trust him to show up, we wouldn’t win the purse bid, we wouldn’t put any money in.
“All the time he says lots of things and to be quite honest, he’s got nothing to do with this fight, it’s all irrelevant.
“The fight is a three-way thing, it’s Queensberry, Top Rank and Tyson Fury, that’s all we care about and that’s where it’s at.
“As far as Hearn’s concerned, he sends a lot of stuff out that just confuses people. The facts are the facts.”
Fury is also becoming annoyed by Whyte’s stalling and feels he should be promoting what will be the biggest all-British world heavyweight title fight since Lennox Lewis beat Frank Bruno in Cardiff in 1993.
He can’t believe his demands for eight times more than the purse he received to fight Wladimir Klitschko to become world champion for the first time in 2015.
“I think not talking is pathetic,” said the unbeaten Gypsy King. “We’re here to talk up and sell one of the biggest fights in British boxing history and he needs to play his part.
“They keep going about the money and percentages, but this little s**t is getting eight times more than I got when I beat Wladimir - and I was 20 times more popular than him for that fight.
“I was undefeated, mandatory with both the WBO and the WBA, and had won three world title eliminators.
“This sucker has done nothing, but get chinned by a 45-year-old man in Alexander Povetkin and yet he’s getting eight-times more than me. It’s like this idiot has won the Euro lottery!
“He would be very sensible to take his money before before he loses it.”
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