Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte set in UK, rights to title bout secured for $41 million

 Tyson Fury will lock horns with  Dillian Whyte in the UK on April 23, as per SB Nation, to defend his WBC heavyweight title. The 33-year-old’s US-based promoter Frank Warren won a purse bid for the bout. 

In a video montage on his social media, Fury announced his return to the UK. The footage included the lyrics:  I’m coming home baby now … I’m sorry now I ever went away.”

Also read: Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano mega boxing bout set April 30 at Madison Square Garden

The British boxer in a follow-up tweet said, “Big G.K. is coming home, I’m coming home!” He was referring to his nickname, the Gypsy King.

“Cannot wait. Me and Dillian are going to put it on the line.”

Concluding months of drawn-out negotiations over the unbeaten Fury’s future, Warren’s Queensberry Promotions announced that Frank is paying just over $41 million for the bout’s rights, according to WBC President Mauricio Sulaimán, making it the richest purse bid in boxing history.

Also read: Rare Tom Brady card from 1st Super Bowl year to be auctioned

“Queensberry and Top Rank are delighted to announce that WBC and lineal world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury will defend his titles against Dillian Whyte following today’s purse bids. A venue and date for the fight will be announced in due course,” Warren tweeted on Friday. 

Fury (31-0-1, 22 knockouts) will fight in his first bout since his dramatic 11th-round knockout of Deontay Wilder last October in Las Vegas. 

Also read: Danielle Collins beats Iga Swiatek; sets up Australian Open final with Ashleigh Barty

The date and location of the bout aren’t certain yet, but Fury’s announcement confirmed he and Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) plan to meet in the spring somewhere in the UK. Fury is a Manchester native, while Whyte was born in Jamaica and moved to Britain as a child.

Fury and Whyte squabbled for weeks over the split of fight revenue, and heavyweight stars Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk got involved in the discussions while promoters considered several options for the four heavyweights’ next steps.

Also read: Kobe and Gigi Bryant’s statues erected at crash site, on second death anniversary

Joshua was offered money to step aside from his contractually obligated rematch with Usyk to allow the Ukrainian three-belt heavyweight champion to unify the titles with a fight against Fury. Joshua lost the WBA, WBO and IBF belts to Usyk in September.

But the negotiations ultimately led to a new challenge for Fury, who hasn’t fought in the UK since August 2018. Whyte is the mandatory challenger for Fury’s belt, and he is getting his first world title shot.

With inputs from the Associated Press