Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte will fight in a heavyweight blockbuster bout in April after Frank Warren won the purse bid last night.
Fury’s promoter Warren won the bid with an offer of $41 million, and the money will be split in a unique way.
It is the biggest purse bid in the history of boxing, which shows how much of a box-office smash Fury has become.
The WBC have ruled that the Gypsy King will take an 80/20 split, which means he will take home $29.5 million while Whyte will get $7.4 million, with the winner getting an additional $4.1 million.
The Body Snatcher’s promoter Eddie Hearn wasn’t successful in winning the purse bid with his offer of $32 million coming up short.
Whyte has finally got his chance at a world title fight and he will now take on the undefeated Fury in a bout that British boxing fans can get excited about.
The Gypsy King emerges from two historic wins against American Deontay Wilder which was part of a memorable trilogy between the fighters.
He tweeted shortly after the announcement: “BIG GK IS COMING HOME, UK BABY.”
His tweet sparked speculation that the fight will be held in Britain which will be a big boost to the UK boxing market.
Wembley Stadium, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium & Principality Stadium will be the favourites to stage the fight if that’s the case.
Whyte has been the WBC’s number one contender for a while now and he will be looking to consign Fury to a first defeat.
The Brixton man’s most recent fight was against Alexander Povetkin in March last year where Whyte came out on top via knockout.
The agreement means it’s now expected that Anthony Joshua will rematch Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk for the IBF, WBA and WBO titles.
Joshua was beaten via unanimous decision back in September to lose his world titles and he will be eager to regain them – much like he did against Andy Ruiz Jr.
There were rumours that the 32-year-old would step aside and allow Usyk to fight Fury, but he quickly squashed those suggestions on social media.