Via Jack Tiernan: American boxing fans will need to pay to watch WBC heavyweight Tyson Fury defend his title against Dillian Whyte on ESPN PPV for their bout on April 23 in the UK. The competition will also be shown on the BT Sports Box Office pay-per-view channel in the UK.
It’s a bit jarring that American boxing fans will be asked to pay for this, as Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) is not a household name in the United States.
With promoter Frank Warren’s $41 million winning wallet on Friday, the money had to come from somewhere to make up for the massive outlays on Fury and Whyte. PPV in the US and UK, along with ticket sales, will hopefully cover the cost.
Event promoters will need to stack up with recognizable US fighters if they want to buy a lot of PPV because Fury will be fighting in the main event that just isn’t enough.
You could argue that the only reason Fury’s fights have been so good lately in the US is because he’s been up against America’s Deontay Wilder. Without Wilder, Fury wouldn’t be able to fight PPV without it.
WBC split 10% of bonus wallet
Warren won the bid on Friday and the match is being targeted for the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
Fury will receive $32 million and Whyte 8.2 million, which is how it was initially confirmed. But WBC chose to withhold 10% of the purse for the winner’s reward.
The wallets will now be Fury receiving $7.9 million and Whyte $7.4 million. Whoever wins the fight will receive an additional 4.1 million dollars.
According to Dan Rafael, Fury will use the heavyweight undefeated prospect Jared Anderson as his joining partner to help him prepare for the fight. Anderson was the fighter who got Fury ready for his recent trilogy fight with Deontsy Wilder, which he won in late stoppage time.
“Just spoke to Bob Arum about the Fury-Whyte wallet bid. He said he spoke to Tyson Fury shortly after, and Tyson told him to make sure to bring Jared Anderson, prospect of the year, to the UK to fight him. Arum says that the real Jared will be in Fury’s camp and fight on the card. #boxing,” said @DanRafael1.
“They have until April 29 to start the fight,” Gareth Davies told iFL TV in the battle of Fury vs. Whyte. “The Principality Stadium in Cardiff is where it will be the main venue for the Whyte vs. Fury of the WBC, and I assume the Ring Magazine title, as long as it’s verified by Ring Magazine.
“This week it was revealed that Usyk and his team were in talks with Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury about Anthony Joshua stepping aside. In the end they did not come to that conclusion.
“People added their dirty linen over the weekend when it crashed, claims and counterclaims. It was a very complicated business arrangement made by Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte.
“I wish Anthony Joshua well in his rematch against Oleksandr Usyk. That hasn’t even been officially announced yet, has it? It’s really interesting. I hope that the fight will continue.
The largest wallet bid in history
“This is the largest auction in history with a total of 72 million dollars. It’s really unbelievable,” Gareth said on Friday about Fury and Whyte’s fight. “Eddie Hearn had his silhouette.
“He told us he had a figure of £24 million, and both men received a huge day salary – 25 million. [pounds] for Tyson Fury and six million for Dillian Whyte. We’ve got our hands on a big British blockbuster.
🇬🇧 @Tyson_Fury 🆚 @DillianWhyte 🏆
Talk time is over! After years of coming back, the heavyweight showdown is on! 🔥
Begin!#FuryWhyte | BT Sport Box Office pic.twitter.com/1Ox0XQNWRn
– Boxing on BT Sport (@BTSportBoxing) January 28, 2022
“You need to sell it now and take in a lot of money and bring in all the players and all the broadcasters. Sold out the stadium features several press tours.
“It will be very interesting, I think. Tyson Fury did not hold back, and Dillian Whyte did not hold back. Maybe we’ll get some throw tables. We’re going to get all sorts of freaks going on.
“Yes, I think that’s realistic,” Davies said when asked if a million pay-per-view purchases were possible for BT Sport Box Office for Fury vs. Whyte or not. “Of course they have to sell it now. It was a good fight; no question about it.
“Whyte has been waiting for this opportunity. Tyson Fury is going to get annoyed. Dillian is an emotional character in recent times. I just feel fireworks with these two. Deep down, Dillian Whyte wanted to prove something.
Dillian can fight without question if he wins
“Tyson Fury is number one in the world. He has a challenge to win the world title against world number 1. Imagine if he [Whyte] win it; he will fight for the next undisputed belt. It’s unbelievable, it’s amazing.
“We have one of the big heavyweights that we want. We just need the date, place and time right now; ditto with Usyk and Joshua. Hopefully that will come now.
King goes home@Tyson_Fury x #FuryWhyte pic.twitter.com/GlFTItiqfD
– Top boxing (@trboxing) January 28, 2022
“There is a big amount for the winner. So that’s another bonus for Dillian Whyte if he can win. Ditto for Tyson Fury,” Gareth said of the WBC’s unusual split of 10% going to the winner in the form of $4.1 million in prize money.
“It’s a big purse, but we’re talking big wars here. Whyte and Fury, we’re talking about the four biggest names in heavyweight boxing if you exclude, at the moment, Deontay Wilder.
“Of course, we would also love to meet Usyk-Joshua and Whyte. Here’s what should happen. We should see all these guys fighting each other right now.
“We still want to see Joshua fight Fury. Will we still see Joshua fight Fury if Joshua loses to Usyk a second time? Maybe not, but maybe we can. We do not know.
“There’s a lot of money on the table, and that’s really been one of the fundamental themes of the last four or five months. Fury vs Wilder and Usyk vs Joshua. There have been talks about money. Money is what holds it back because there is a lot of money on the line.
Fury vs. Whyte = The biggest battle in UK history
“It was a big fight at the time, but this one was bigger,” Gareth said during Fury vs. Whyte was larger than the October 1993 battle of Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno.
“I think Tyson Fury is as popular in the UK as Frank Bruno, and Dillian Whyte is now so popular and has become a box office name. Yes, it’s huge. It’s absolutely huge. We are very fortunate to have strong contenders at the moment in the UK.
“If you look at Fury and Whyte and Joshua and Joe Joyce and Daniel Dubois and even Dereck Chisora. It’s a great time for our heavyweights on the world stage. I can’t remember when we had so many possible candidates for the belt.
“Joe Joyce can win in two years. Daniel Dubois could be the champion in two years’ time. It was amazing,” said Gareth.
