LONDON — British heavyweight Dillian Whyte wants his next fight to be against Tyson Fury for the world title instead of rescheduling his canceled bout with Otto Wallin.
Whyte last week pulled out of his scheduled fight with Wallin for this Saturday, citing a shoulder injury.
Whyte holds the WBC interim title and is next in line to fight Fury, the WBC champion who retained his belt by beating Deontay Wilder this month to complete their trilogy.
Asked whether he will fight Fury in early 2022, Whyte told the BBC: “That’ll be the plan.”
Wallin and his promoter, Dmitriy Salita, are pushing for the fight against Whyte to be rescheduled, with the Swedish boxer wanting an independent doctor to look at whether the British heavyweight’s injury is genuine.
In a statement to The Associated Press, Salita called on the WBC to “make a fair decision relating to this fight and for boxing fans worldwide.”
“Otto Wallin vs. Whyte should be rescheduled,” he said. “Whyte should not be allowed to forego the fight with Otto and fight Fury next as a mandatory challenger.”
The WBC has already announced plans to order Fury to defend his belt against its interim titleholder.
Oleksandr Usyk holds the WBA, IBF and WBO belts after beating Anthony Joshua on points last month. They are due to have a rematch early next year.