Eddie Hearn has claimed that Anthony Joshua could take on Dillian Whyte in an undisputed title fight if Tyson Fury refuses to make a mandatory defense after the fight on Saturday as Whyte will fight Alexander Povetkin and will look to progress to a WBC title fight against Fury, Dailymail reports.
If Fury doesn’t accept Whyte’s challenge, then Joshua, who currently holds the IBF, WBA and WBO belts, could take on Whyte instead.
“Looking at the bigger undisputed picture, all Joshua wants is the WBC title, “Hearn told Sky Sports News.
“He was never worried if it came against Wilder or Fury. Whoever! Whoever owns that belt is who Joshua will face for the undisputed championship as we know the winner of Saturday’s fight will be ordered to face the winner of Fury vs Wilder.”
Hearn says he wouldn’t be happy if Fury doesn’t want to take on Whyte, as the latter would then be elevated to champion. However, in such a scenario Joshua would step in to take on Whyte.
He said: “If Fury does not want to fight Whyte, then Whyte will be elevated to champion from interim champion. Now I do not like that.”
“But what will happen? Joshua will fight Whyte straight away for the undisputed championship. You always want to fight a champion. But if Fury refuses to do a fight that has been ordered by the WBC, then he will be stripped of his title.”
Whyte has won 27 of his 28 fights so far, with his last victory coming in December last year when he got the better of Mariusz Wach.
Fury and Joshua, meanwhile, have a financial arrangement to fight on two occasions next year, but firstly Joshua must get the better of Kubrat Pulev and Oleksandr Usyk, while Fury has to get past Deontay Wilder and Whyte.
