Dillian Whyte laughs off Frank Warren's statements: "Why would I fight Daniel Dubois?"
Frank Warren has recently spoken about a potential fight between Daniel Dubois and Dillian Whyte, but Whyte is focused on his status as WBC mandatory challenger
WBC interim heavyweight champion Dillian Whyte (27-1, 18KOs) has been very quick to dismiss any chance of facing Greenwich powerhouse Daniel Dubois (14-0, 13KOs) in the near future, and insists his primary focus is taking out Alexander Povetkin on Saturday night – August 22 – and moving ever closer to his mandatory WBC world title shot against current champion Tyson Fury (30-0-1, 21KOs).
The 32-year-old will take on Russian Alexander Povetkin (35-2-1, 24KOs) on Saturday night at Fight Camp, live on Sky Sports Box Office and DAZN, with his WBC interim challenger status on the line, and is feeling in better shape than ever after an extended training camp in Portugal ahead of the heavyweight bout behind closed doors.
However in recent weeks, Queensbury Promotions' Frank Warren has linked Dillian Whyte with a bout against his 22-year-old unbeaten prospect 'Dynamite' Daniel Dubois, with the young heavyweight convinced he has the punch power to take Whyte out and remove him from the equation in the heaviest division, but Whyte has quickly stamped on any hopes of the fight being made soon, and concluded there is "no reason' for the fight to be made".
He said on Media Day from the 'Bubble': "Frank (Warren) needs to stay off the liquor man, he is just trying to deviate from the Tyson Fury fight. Why would I fight Daniel Dubois? I am the WBC interim challenger, there is no reason for me to fight Daniel Dubois, he brings nothing to the table.
"They know me, they know I love a fight, so they are just trying to throw some bait out there for me to take.
Whyte also affirmed his position over his WBC shot, and believed he has earned the right to fight Tyson Fury despite promoter Frank Warren stating that he may vacate the belt, and avoid any potential clash with 'The Body Snatcher'.
"The WBC have come out and said it for the first time, they cannot change it now. They will not want the embarassment, It's not like I haven't earnt it, I have been up there three years now. Frank Warren can say what he wants, that's why there is legal processes, Frank says a lot of things.
"Fury is saying he wants to fight me one minute, and not the next. He says whatever he thinks, his mind's at the wind, so I'm not sure.
Should the title be vacated by Fury, the Brixton 'Body Snatcher' feels he is owed the belt irrespective of other candidates, but insists he wants to fight the best in order to legitimately become world champion and atop of the heavyweight division.
"I shouldn't have to fight anyone to become world champion, I am interim champion, but I don't want that. I want to fight Tyson fury as he says he is the greatest heavyweight to walk the planet, I want to fight the best. Hopefully he is gonna be a man about his word and fight me, and don't be a coward and vacate the belt.
"I'm good, I'm fit and I'm ready to go."
Whyte has held the WBC interim heavyweight title since July 2019 as well as multiple regional heavyweight titles, including the British title from 2016 to 2017. As of February 2020, he is ranked as the world's third best active heavyweight by The Ring magazine, fifth by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and sixth by BoxRec.
He will face a huge test on Saturday night against Povetkin, an experienced fighter at the top level with a huge left hook, and a great deal of staying power to go the distance should it be required on Saturday, and the Russian will no doubt do everything in his power to hijack the world title interim opportunity from under the Londoner's nose and convert his moment in the twilight of his long career into a shot at stardom once again.
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