Dillian Whyte replacement on standby for Tyson Fury heavyweight fight

Frank Warren has confirmed that a replacement is on standby to step in for Dillian Whyte should he pull out of the fight with Tyson Fury later this month. There have been rumblings online about Whyte's social media blackout, whilst he remained in Portugal for last month's press conference.

We're now just weeks away all-British heavyweight blockbuster that is will be held at Wembley Stadium. Fury continues his WBC title defence against Whyte after a stunning victory against Deontay Wilder back in October last year.

Fury had originally hoped to face Oleksandr Usyk in a unification bout, but with both Whyte and Anthony Joshua refusing to step-aside, he will now face the Body Snatcher whilst Usyk faces Joshua. Whyte has not fought since last March when he dispatched Alexander Povetkin.

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There has plenty of disagreement among the two camps leading up to the fights on image rights and the purse split. Whyte has not said a word in promoting the clash and has not even been seen training - with many fans worried about whether he'll show up at all.

Today, Fury's promoter Frank Warren confirmed that a back-up option is in place to fight the Gypsy King should Whyte back out. Warren did not give any indication that he is expecting this to happen and said they have just decided to "cover all bases".

Many have speculated that the man as the option would be Joe Joyce - with most other heavyweight opponents set for fights including Usyk vs Joshua and Luis Ortiz vs Andy Ruiz. Joyce remains undefeated in his career after recent wins over Daniel Dubois and Carlos Takam, and has recently been rumoured to be the next opponent for Fury's teammate Joseph Parker.