WBC extends free negotiation period between Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte, set purse bid for Jan. 18

WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury hasn’t had the easiest time negotiating a mandatory title defense against Dillian Whyte thus far, but things might be trending in a positive direction as the WBC has announced that they’ve extended the free negotiation period between Fury and Whyte another week, officially re-scheduling the bout to go to purse bid on Tuesday, Jan. 18th should both sides not reach an agreement by that time.

Whyte has long been seeking his shot at the WBC’s top prize in the division and while some aren’t too fond about the way was able to circumvent a fight against Otto Wallin to go straight into this mandatory shot, hopefully we can now just get this fight over the line to at least put an end to this particular storyline.

Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) most recently fought in March of 2021 when he was able to avenge his knockout loss to Alexander Povetkin by scoring one of his own. After that close call and while waiting for his mandatory title shot, it seems that Whyte wasn’t too keen on taking many more chances before he could finally secure the big one — a fight against Tyson Fury. Whyte, of course, would publicly cite a shoulder injury as to why he was unable to fight Wallin as previously scheduled, but there were many who were at least cynical about the situation.

Be that as it may, Whyte has at long last secured his shot at the WBC’s heavyweight title, and better be prepared to make the most of this opportunity.