By Keith Idec
Deontay Wilder understands why Eddie Hearn keeps insisting that Wilder fight Dillian Whyte.
Wilder is convinced Hearn just wants to keep him away from fellow heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. Hearn’s company promotes Joshua and Whyte, both of whom will fight Saturday night at Principality Stadium in Cardiff Wales.
Hearn has offered Wilder $3 million guaranteed, plus U.S. television revenue, to fight Whyte thus far. While Wilder (38-0, 37 KOs) makes it clear he doesn’t need to defend his WBC heavyweight title against Whyte (21-1, 16 KOs), he’ll do it if Hearn pays him approximately double what has been discussed thus far.
“I can definitely see where that happens,” Wilder told BoxingScene.com of facing Whyte. “It happens when Eddie raises that price. That’s when it can happen. If he can come up with $7 [million], whether it comes out of his pocket or not, we’ll listen. … The Dillian Whyte fight, it can happen. But it’s gonna take a little bit more than what they’re talking about. Let them raise it up to $7 to $10 [million] and let’s talk. For $4 million and then they’re talking about me coming over there and all that – the thing about it is I don’t need Dillian Whyte. I don’t need to fight him. And if Joshua don’t wanna fight, then that’s fine, too.”
Joshua (19-0, 19 KOs), Great Britain’s biggest boxing star, will make a mandatory defense of his IBF heavyweight title Saturday night against Cameroon’s Carlos Takam (35-3-1, 27 KOs). London’s Whyte will face Finland’s Robert Helenius (25-1, 16 KOs) on the Joshua-Takam undercard in a 12-round fight for the WBC silver heavyweight title (Sky Sports Box Office; ￡19.95).
If the 29-year-old Whyte wins, he’ll likely move up from his No. 3 spot in the WBC’s rankings, closer to a shot at Wilder. A week later, Wilder will make a mandatory defense of his WBC title against former champion Bermane Stiverne (25-2-1, 21 KOs) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Even if Joshua and Wilder win their upcoming bouts, the 32-year-old champion from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, doesn’t think they’ll fight next. He is open to instead traveling to England to fight Whyte, but Hearn will have to make it worth his while.
“If they raise the money and I’m happy with it, we can fight anywhere they want,” Wilder said. “I’d prefer to bring him to America and let him get a glimpse of this, but if we have to go over there, if the money’s right, then hey, let’s do it. That’s all I’m saying. If you’re gonna waste my time, you’re gonna pay for it. You’re gonna pay more than $4 million to waste my time. And I’m very strong on it. I don’t need Dillian Whyte. I don’t care about that money, what they’re talking about.
“People always worry about, ‘Oh, this is a big payday.’ My life’s straight. I’m good. The love of money is the root of all evil. My life don’t dwell just on money. It’s all about peace and happiness with me, and my life is at peace and I’m happy with my family. I’ve got a great family, I’ve got a great career and when you find peace in your life, man, there’s nothing that can interrupt that. Nothing can interrupt your peace. So if they come up on that price, like we want, they got them a fight. I promise you that.”
2023-10-19 19:45:52
