Promoter Frank Warren secures rights to Tyson Fury-Dillian Whyte title bout with $41M bid

For the first time since September 2019, Tyson Fury will fight someone other than Deontay Wilder.

Fury's co-promoter, Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions, won the rights to the WBC heavyweight title fight between Fury and Dillian Whyte with a commitment of $41,025,000 at Friday's purse bid. Fury, the champion, is entitled to 80%, a career-best purse of $32,800,000.

Whyte, the WBC's longtime No. 1 contender, is entitled to $8,200,000. The only other bidder was Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing with a bid of $32,222,222.

The fight is being targeted for April 23 in the U.K., sources told ESPN. Top Rank, which co-promotes Fury alongside Warren, will co-promote the event. Fury-Whyte will be an ESPN pay-per-view in the U.S., per sources, and a BT Sport pay-per-view in the U.K.

«I can't wait to punch Dillian Whyte's face right in, mate,» Fury, ESPN's No. 1 heavyweight, said in an Instagram video Thursday. «I'm going to give him the best hiding he's ever had in his life. Dillian Whyte, train hard, sucker, because you're getting annihilated, bum.»

Friday's auction ends weeks of negotiations toward a step-aside package that would have paid Whyte and Anthony Joshua millions to forego planned bouts with Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, respectively. There was an agreement in principle, sources said, but the deal fell apart after parties attempted to renegotiate at the 11th hour.

The proposed deal would have paved the way for Fury to fight Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship in June in Saudi Arabia. Instead, Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs) will defend his title against Whyte, a fellow Englishman.

Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) was the WBC's No. 1 contender for more than 1,000 days without a title shot before he was upset by Alexander Povetkin in