Promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom has responded to some of the recent statements that were made by WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder during his interview with BoxingScene.com. (photo by PBC)
Hearn is trying very hard to get Wilder in the ring with Dillian Whyte for the date of February 3 in London.
To date, Hearn has offered Wilder (38-0, 37 KOs) $3 million guaranteed, plus U.S. television revenue, to fight Whyte.
Wilder is not very interested in a fight with Whyte (21-1, 16 KOs) - but he's willing to do the fight if Hearn increases that offer - by more than double.
“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.”
Wilder would rather have a unification with Hearn's star fighter - IBF, IBO, WBA champion Anthony Joshua (19-0, 19 KOs) - who returns this Saturday in a title defense against Cameroon’s Carlos Takam (35-3-1, 27 KOs). Whyte will see action on the undercard, when he faces Robert Helenius (25-1, 16 KOs) for the WBC silver heavyweight title.
Wilder is back in the ring next Saturday, November 4, when he makes a mandatory defense of his WBC title against former champion Bermane Stiverne (25-2-1, 21 KOs) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Hearn is putting together a better offer to send off to Wilder, to fight Whyte, - but also makes it clear that he's not going to offer anything close to $7 million.
"[He wants $7 million] and I want an 11-inch penis - it's not going to happen.... it's true. What a thing to say [by Wilder]. We've offered him $3 million dollars. You're offered $3 million, plus U.S. TV - so maybe $4 million. in total. At what point, do you just come back and say you want $7 million," Hearn told IFL TV.
"We run a business. I know how much money is in that fight - I don't need you to tell me. So we're going to go back, we're going to improve our offer to try to make the fight. It won't be $7 million or even close to that, but we're going to improve our offer.
"If you beat Dillian Whyte, your value in the Joshua fight and your earnings in the Joshua fight will probably go up 10 or 15%, and that could be $7 to $10 million. The Joshua fight is inevitable if he keeps the belt. But if he beats Dillian Whyte, the fight becomes huge. But I think Whyte beats him."
2023-10-19 20:13:47
