Top heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte’s next fight is set, as he’ll face Oscar Rivas in a Sky Box Office main event in London on July 20, with U.S. broadcast details still to come.
Whyte (25-1, 18 KO) is maybe the No. 4 heavyweight in the sport behind Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder, and Tyson Fury — in whatever order you prefer — and he believes he’s taking a tougher challenge than any of them will in their next fights.
“It is a very high-risk fight. Oscar Rivas is the most dangerous out of the lot of them. I’ll fight anyone. At the end of the day, I’m not scared to fight no one. I keep saying it time and time again. I just want to fight and get what I believe I deserve, and what I’ve worked for, and that has to be a potential world title and win one.”
Given the goofiness of the current heavyweight division, Whyte actually has a decent argument about Rivas (26-0, 18 KO), an unbeaten former Olympian coming off of a strong win in January over Bryant Jennings.
While Whyte faces Rivas, Anthony Joshua is still trying to find an opponent for June 1, and original opponent Jarrell Miller was a massive underdog, anyway; Deontay Wilder is set to face Dominic Breazeale on May 18; and Tyson Fury is scheduled against totally untested Tom Schwarz on June 15.
I might personally argue Breazeale over Rivas as far as danger goes, but there’s not a lot between them, really. BoxRec rankings have Breazeale at No. 10 worldwide and Rivas No. 15. Meanwhile, Schwarz is No. 38. However you slice it, and pretty much no matter who faces Joshua on June 1, Fury is taking the least risk.