Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte’s heavyweight title fight is finally official, with the Britons set to clash at Wembley Stadium on 23 April.
In December, WBC champion Fury was ordered to defend his belt against mandatory challenger and interim champion Whyte, and the “Gypsy King” spent much of February taunting his opponent for not having signed a contract to fight – which Whyte finally did on the cusp of the deadline.
The bout was always expected to take place in the UK and that has now been confirmed, with the contest at Wembley marking Fury’s first fight on home soil since 2018.
Since then, the 33-year-old has fought five times – once in Los Angeles and on four occasions in Las Vegas.
In his most recent bout, Fury (31-0-1, 22 knockouts) stopped Deontay Wilder (28-2, 19 KOs) for the second fight in a row to retain the WBC belt that he had won from the American in their second meeting – following a controversial split draw the first time around.
That contest took place in October, the same month that Whyte, 34, was scheduled to fight Otto Wallin. The Briton withdrew from the bout, however, citing a shoulder injury.
Whyte, a former sparring partner of Fury, last competed in March 2021, when he stopped Alexander Povetkin to avenge a knockout loss to the Russian in each man’s previous outing.
Fury told The Independent this month: “[Whyte] just needs to knock me out, pretty easy. Get stuck in, fire big right hands and left hooks and hope one lands and KOs me.
“Other than that, he’s in trouble. Get stuck in, put your best foot forward and windmill away until one lands. Then try to keep me on that canvas, which has been proven to be hard over the years.
“Like I’ve always said, bring your six-inch nails and nail me to that canvas. Other than that, I’m getting up and I’m coming for your a**.”
