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Promoter Eddie Hearn is insisting that Dillian Whyte be given his owed WBC heavyweight title shot against Tyson Fury ahead of Deontay Wilder, if Fury and Wilder can’t get their contractually-obligated third fight in by the end of this year.

From Sky Sports:

“The official date is before the end of February 2021. Obviously if Wilder-Fury takes place in December, maybe that gets pushed back a little bit. Great news for Dillian Whyte who has been pushing so hard, fully deserves this shot more than any fighter in boxing, forget the heavyweight division, but he does have business to attend to on August 22 against Alexander Povetkin. That makes that fight even more dangerous, but as far as we’re concerned Fury-Wilder must happen this year, and if it doesn’t we’re ready to go with Whyte against Fury, subject to him beating Povetkin in a couple of weeks’ time.”

As Hearn notes, Whyte (27-1, 18 KO) doesn’t have an easy one lined up on Aug. 22, as Povetkin (35-2-1, 24 KO) is a legitimate contender and has a genuine chance of winning that fight. It’s not some easy tune-up, it’s a real fight.

But if Fury (30-0-1, 21 KO) and Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KO) do not have their third fight in December as is the current, probably optimistic hope, Hearn and Whyte would have every reason to push for Whyte to get in there in early 2021 against Fury. That’s been the mandate. Things change, as we know, and boxing is weird, and we just don’t know month-to-month how anything is going to work in the world right now, so it’s not an open-and-shut sort of thing, but it’s an idea that makes some sense.

Of course all of this has to play out, and honestly there’s no guarantee that there would be money or a good place to do Fury-Whyte, either, that’s still a big and expensive fight, even if it’s not quite Fury-Wilder 3.

FightHype.com recently caught up with world-class trainer Ronnie Shields, who shared his thoughts on several topics, including Jermall Charlo’s upcoming clash with Sergiy Derevyanchenko, the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. exhibition showdown, and much more. You don’t want to miss what went down. Check it out!

[ Follow Ron Goodall on Twitter @FighteriQMedia ]

Leo ‘El Famoso Terremoto’ Santa Cruz is not worried about Gervonta Davis being unable to make the contracted weight of 130-pounds for their scheduled fight, which takes place on October 24.

Santa Cruz and Davis will meet for two world titles, the World Boxing Association super featherweight and lightweight belts. Santa Cruz holds the WBA title at 130, while Davis has the WBA lightweight title at 135.

The fight will be headline a Showtime Pay-Per-View event.

If either boxer fails to make the contracted weight, there will be fines involved.

“They have asked me about the weight, about 130, they have asked me what will happen if he does not hit 130, and I think he will hit 130 because he knows [what will happen],” Santa Cruz told ESPN Deportes.

“He will focus on the fight and on coming down in weight and of course, we have taken precautions. If he does not make 130, he will pay fines. I think they are going to take a good amount from his purse [if he’s overweight] and he will try to do everything possible to make 130, so that they don’t take any money from him.”

Santa Cruz is putting together a very tough training camp, for what will be a very dangerous fight.

“We are just beginning our preparation, I have felt very good, I feel strong. I know that I have arrived [to camp] very strong and focused, we know that he is a tough opponent, we are going to win. The fight is tough, but not impossible, we are going to win,” said Santa Cruz.

Gervonta, 25-years-old, is 23-0 with 22 knockouts.

He’s been out of the ring since December, when he stopped former champion Yuriorkis Gamboa in the twelfth round.

And Santa Cruz, 31-years-old, has a record of 37-1-1 and 19 knockouts, and was last seen in November when he beat Miguel Flores.

Natasha Jonas almost dethrones Terri Harper, but a split draw sees the champion retain the WBC super-featherweight title

AFTER a superb 10 rounds, Terri Harper and Natasha Jonas’ WBC super-featherweight world title fight ended in a split draw on Friday night (August 7) at Matchroom’s HQ in Brentwood.

The first all-British women’s world title fight lived up to the occasion. Jonas, a skilled 2012 Olympian, started well, taking the centre of the ring and occupying Harper with her southpaw jab. But it was her left cross that scored heavily, landing to the body with some heft.

But Harper opened up a bad cut alongside Jonas’ right eye. Denaby’s Harper powered forward, chopping at Jonas with a high volume of punches. The weight of those attacks seemed to tire Jonas as the two fought their way into the second half of the bout.

But Jonas broke through in the eighth round, a straight one-two set up a shuddering right hook. Harper was badly shaken but she held on to her footing. Liverpool’s Jonas connected with the cleaner, heavier shots but Harper dug in as she battled back on to the front foot.

The judges did not find a winner. Ian John-Lewis scored 96-94
for Harper, John Lathem 96-95 for Jonas and Mark Lyson scored 95-95. The split
draw means Harper retains her WBC super-featherweight title.

On the undercard Anthony Fowler handed Adam Harper a sustained beating, which referee Ian John-Lewis halted it at 1-34 of the seventh but it should have stopped two rounds earlier. In the fourth round Fowler stunned Harper, a double jab setting up an excellent right cross. He hammered Harper along the ropes, the damage clear. Harper appealed for another round but it was a request that should not have been granted.

Liverpool’s Fowler, in his second bout with new trainer Shane McGuigan, looked relaxed, particularly sharp in the opening two rounds here. He held his lead left low and loose, but quick, hard jabs thumped into Harper throughout the early going.

His attacks to the body seemed to drift low, certainly to referee John-Lewis who deducted a point in the second round and sternly warned Fowler after giving Tewkesbury’s Harper another break to recover from a low blow in the sixth round. But that aside, Fowler had performed well.

Bournemouth’s Chris Billam-Smith defended his Commonwealth cruiserweight title with fearsome power. Before the first round was out, chopping left hooks, virtually from within a clinch, saw Nathan Thorley sink to the canvas. Heavy rights forced Thorley down again in the second round. The Welshman recovered himself momentarily, slugging Billam-Smith with a one-two. He fired back but Billam-Smith unleashed a vicious curving right to floor Thorley. Badly hurt, Thorley had to be stopped by referee Mark Lyson at 2-05 of the second.

Johnny Philips charged headlong into Leeds prospect Hopey Price, but piled into clinches rather than landing with any great effect. Opening space up between them, Price drilled him with long combinations and took a 60-54 points win for referee Ian John-Lewis after six rounds.