On 24 April, the WBC ordered Whyte vs. Luis Ortiz in an eliminator bout for their heavyweight champion, Deontay Wilder. Whyte felt 'betrayed' by this decision from the WBC as he thought he was already in line to challenge Wilder next. The WBC made Dominic Breazeale the mandatory challenger, although they previously confirmed his win over Eric Molina was not a final eliminator. Whyte stated, if anything, the WBC should order Whyte vs. Breazeale as the final eliminator. Promoter Eddie Hearn was also puzzled by the decision. At the same time, the IBF also ordered Whyte to fight former world title challenger Kubrat Pulev (25–1, 13 KO). A purse bid was set for 10 May. The purse bids were delayed as a deal between Hearn and Team Sauerland, Pulev's promoter, was close to being agreed. The IBF gave them until 24 May. Despite Whyte stating that Pulev did not want the fight, Pulev stated he was more than happy to fight Whyte, but "a lot of things need to be agreed" before the fight could be confirmed. According to Nisse Sauerland, the date of 28 July was being discussed with the host venue being either London or Bulgaria. New York based promotional company, Epic Sports & Entertainment, made a purse bid of $1,500,111, winning the rights of the fight. Eddie Hearn offered $831,111, which was higher than the $801,305 bid from Team Sauerland. IBF rules state, for a final eliminator, the higher ranked boxer, in this case Pulev, would get 75% ($1,125,083.25) and Whyte would earn $375,027.75 for the fight. On 6 June, although the Whyte vs. Pulev fight was not off the table, it was heavily rumoured via multiple sources that Whyte would instead fight Luis Ortiz in a WBC final eliminator. Many media outlets announced the fight. Pulev was unhappy with the pull out and labelled Whyte and Hearn as "extreme manipulators and plain schizophrenics" as well as accusing them of avoiding him at all costs.
Dillian Whyte Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth, Family
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