📸 Lawrence Lustig

Promoter Eddie Hearn wants the WBC to commit to giving Dillian Whyte a shot at Deontay Wilder should the Londoner beat Oscar Rivas next month.

Hearn is growing tired of delays to Whyte’s chance, despite the fact ‘The Bodysnatcher’ has never been named mandatory.

Whyte has held the number one spot for 600 days, although Wilder has fought two mandatories and two top-five WBC contenders during that time.

Wilder is due to meet a pair of those again in his next two fights. Luis Ortiz is due up first before a rematch with Tyson Fury.

Facing top-rated WBC fighters has given Wilder the breathing space he needs until Whyte actually wins an eliminator.

On the other hand, Hearn is hoping the WBC will ratify the Whyte v Rivas clash soon.

“We’re getting there,” Hearn told Sky Sports. “We won’t give in. 600 days this weekend that Dillian Whyte has been WBC No 1. That’s virtually unheard of.

“In that period he’s boxed Chisora, Helenius, Lucas Browne, Joseph Parker, Chisora again.

“We feel that he deserves a shot. I think the general public do as well. I believe the fight against Oscar Rivas will be for the WBC ‘interim’ world title, it will be for the mandatory position. But we want to know when that comes.

“He’s already waited 600 days. Let’s not wait 800 or 900 days. So we need a date for the WBC to confirm when Deontay Wilder must fight the winner of that fight.

“Effectively what we do know is, all Dillian Whyte has to do is win on July 20 to become the official challenger for Deontay Wilder. That’s why now there’s even more pressure on that fight.

“An official resolution will be confirmed next week. We hope Mauricio Sulaiman, the president of the WBC, will actually fly to London to announce this.

“(That way), We can all get on with our lives and hopefully Dillian Whyte beats Rivas and finally gets his shot at the WBC world title.”







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The roadblock Hearn faces is considerable as the WBC have ordered Wilder to fight both Ortiz and Fury in the past.

Giving the fans the fights they want has always been a priority for President Sulaiman.

Ortiz, despite being a fight the WBC previously wanted, will be classed as a voluntary. The Fury fight will overrule any mandatory. Not only because the WBC want that fight above all, but because the initial meeting was a draw.

Therefore, it’s highly unlikely Whyte will be given his chance until after the Wilder v Fury rematch.

The winner could conceivably then fit Whyte in, should be overcome Rivas, before a confirmed trilogy is completed later in 2020.

For those reasons stated, Whyte fighting for the green and gold belt is off the menu until at least the summer of next year.