Tyson Fury and his team were granted the purse split sought for a potential mandatory title defense.
Whether or not that fight materializes could come down to the response from the other side.
BoxingScene.com has learned that the World Boxing Council (WBC) has approved a prior request from Top Rank, Fury’s co-promoter who called for an 80/20 purse split for the mandatory title fight between the lineal and WBC heavyweight champion and current interim titlist Dillian Whyte.
The ruling from the WBC—which was first reported by Chris McKenna of Daily Star in the United Kingdom, where both heavyweights are based—was also accompanied with a purse bid date of January 11, 2022 unless both sides are able to come to an agreement during that time frame.
“We ordered (the fight) on Thursday,” Mauricio Sulaiman, longtime president of the WBC told BoxingScene.com on Thursday, taking time from celebrating his 52nd birthday to confirm the news. “The consideration for the 80/20 split comes from the purses the fighters have earned in their recent fights.”
Manchester’s Fury (31-0-1, 22KOs), 31, is coming off his second consecutive knockout win over Deontay Wilder (42-2-1, 41KOs), earning an eleventh-round stoppage over the former WBC titlist in their trilogy bout this past October 9 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The third fight between the pair of familiar rivals was contractually owed to Wilder, who exercised a clause in the contract for their rematch which was won by Fury via one-sided seventh-round stoppage last February at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
A lengthy arbitration process preceded a final ruling in Wilder’s favor, which the WBC honored as part of an agreement that delayed plans for Whyte (28-2, 19KOs) to receive what he believed was a mandatory shot at the title. Whyte was to next face the winner, although an active legal matter between the 34-year-old interim titlist and the sanctioning body delayed plans to formally order the fight.
The WBC addressed the latter part during its annual convention this past November in Mexico City, where the organization’s headquarters are also based. Carl Moretti, vice president of operations for Top Rank vocally petitioned for an 80/20 split to be assigned to the fight, in line with the drastic paydays earned by the two boxers over their past several fights. The request was in stark contrast to the traditional 55/45 split enjoyed between a reigning WBC full titlist and interim beltholder. WBC by-laws provide room to go as much as 70/30 in favor of the full champion at its discretion, with a formal request by any involved party to be reviewed by the sanctioning body’s Board of Governors.
