Tyson Fury’s next heavyweight title defence is imminent, with the WBC champion set to take on fellow Briton Dillian Whyte this weekend.
Fury was ordered in December to defend his belt against Whyte, who is mandatory challenger to the “Gypsy King” and interim title holder.
Whyte seemed to only sign the contract for the fight on the cusp of the 22 February deadline, finally making the bout official after much taunting from Fury.
“Oh, my God! Dillian Whyte signed his contract for $8million,” Fury said in an Instagram story at the time. “What a surprise! An absolute idiot. Should this even be a talking point? The man signed for the biggest pay day he’s ever gonna get in his life.
“I’m gonna absolutely bust Dillian Whyte like a cheap water balloon, because you’re useless, you big dosser. You useless sausage!”
Here’s all you need to know about the fight.
When is it?
The fight will take place on Saturday 23 April.
The first fight will begin at 6pm BST, with coverage starting from 7pm. The ring walks for the main event are expected to take place at 9.45pm BST 4:45pm EST.
Where will it take place?
The fight will take place at Wembley Stadium in London, marking Fury’s first contest on home soil since 2018.
Around 94,000 fans are expected to fill the venue.
How can I watch it?
In the UK, the event will air exclusively on BT Sport Box Office at a cost of £24.95.
In the US, ESPN+ will stream the action live at a cost of $69.99
What are the odds?
Tyson Fury – 1/7
Dillian Whyte – 4/1
Draw – 25/1
How much will the fighters earn?
Fury’s promoter Frank Warren won the purse bid with his effort of approximately £30million, which beat the £23m put forward by Whyte’s promoter Eddie Hearn. Both were record bids in the history of boxing.
An 80/20 per cent purse split was agreed in favour of champion Fury, though the split only relates to 90 per cent of the overall winning bid (£27m) – because the promoter must deposit the other 10 per cent.
As such, Fury will thus take home approximately £21.5m, while Whyte receives around £5.5m.
The winner will receive the 10 per cent deposit (£3m).
What are the fighters’ records?
Fury, 33, is unbeaten at 31-0-1 (22 knockouts), with a controversial split draw in his first fight with Deontay Wilder giving way to stoppage wins against the American in the “Gypsy King”’s two most recent bouts.
Whyte, 34, has a professional record of (28-2, 19 KOs). He last fought in March 2021, knocking out Alexander Povetkin to avenge his own stoppage loss to the Russian from August 2020.
Full card
Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte (WBC heavyweight title)
Ekow Essuman vs Darren Tetley (Commonwealth, BBBofC British and IBF European welterweight titles)
Isaac Lowe vs Nick Ball (vacant WBC Silver featherweight title)
David Adeleye vs Chris Healey (heavyweight)
Tommy Fury vs Daniel Bocianski (light-heavyweight)
Karol Itauma vs Michael Ciach (light-heavyweight)
Kurt Walker vs Stefan Nicolae (super-featherweight)
Royston Barney-Smith vs Constantin Radoi (super-featherweight)
