Tyson Fury is set to defend his WBC heavyweight title against countryman Dillian Whyte, his mandatory challenger, on April 23 at Wembley Stadium in London.
For Whyte, the opportunity has been a long time coming. The Jamaican-born, London-based heavyweight has long caviled at the WBC for failing to get him a title shot, despite being, for years, the top contender with the sanctioning body.
Fury, though, thinks Whyte is far from being a worthy candidate based strictly on his body of work and accolades.
“If we go on merit and titles won, what’s he actually ever won?” Fury posed to IFL TV. “Let me tell you, because you can’t get involved. He’s won the British title before, but that’s it.”
“He won some WBC intermediate title, or whatever it is, but it’s not a real title,” Fury said of Whyte. “It’s not an official belt. Whatever, WBC Silver. That’s like a Mickey Mouse belt. I hope the WBC don’t mind me saying that, but it’s not a world title. Mauricio himself would say that. It’s not a world title. It’s a stepping stone belt for a young fighter that’s coming up.”
“He won the British title, fair play to him and all,” Fury said of Whyte. “But I’ve won 17 belts along the way. Props to me.”
The 34-year-old Whyte is coming off a fourth-round stoppage of Russian heavyweight Alexander Povetkin last March in Gibraltar, which was a rematch of their tussle in August of 2020 that saw Whyte get stopped in the fifth round.
