Andy Ruiz Jr and Robert Helenius are frontrunners to face Fury next
Andy Ruiz Jr and Robert Helenius are revealed by Bob Arum as frontrunners to face Tyson Fury next as promoter hits out at Dillian Whyte’s team for being ‘very greedy’ by ‘demanding £7.5m’
- Dillian Whyte wants a split close to 55/45 in favour of Tyson Fury for their fight
- But Fury’s team are angling for the heavyweight champion to take 80 per cent
- Disagreement could mean ‘Gypsy King’ takes another fight in the mean time
- Andy Ruiz Jr and Robert Helenius are the two frontrunners to face him next
Bob Arum has branded Dillian Whyte ‘very greedy’ for demanding £7.5million to fight Tyson Fury, and revealed Andy Ruiz Jr or Robert Helenius are now the two likely opponents for the heavyweight champion.
Whyte and Fury’s teams are locked in negotiations after the WBC ordered that Fury should defend his belt against the mandatory challenger next.
Bob Arum, head of Top Rank and Fury’s promoter in the United States, told iFL TV: ‘Dillian Whyte could have that fight. We would do that fight. But they’re – in our view – very greedy with what they’re asking…
Bob Arum (right) says Dillian Whyte’s team are wanting too much to fight Tyson Fury (right)
Whyte is the mandatory challenger for Fury’s WBC belt but negotiations have been fraught
‘We’ve offered them a big, good deal. A purse deal far more than they’ve ever gotten in any fight, and that hasn’t moved them.
‘We’ve talked to the head of the WBC – Mauricio Sulaiman. And he said, “Look, it breaks my heart, but go find another opponent, fight without the WBC title, we’re not gonna take it away from you, and go about your business.”
‘Dillian Whyte really should come to the table and make the deal to fight Tyson Fury.
‘But that’s not likely to happen, so they’re gonna play out the arbitration and Frank Warren and I are looking for another opponent to do Fury’s fight in Manchester or Las Vegas.
‘Andy Ruiz Jr is a possibility. Robert Helenius – big, Finnish kid who can really fight. Those are the two principle guys.’
Whyte is said to be pursing a 55/45 split if he fights Fury but the ‘Gypsy King’s’ team are after more like 80 per cent for their man.
Arum went on: ‘Nobody has heard, in the United States, of Dillian Whyte. I think we’ve offered him a deal of 25 per cent with a guarantee and let him negotiate.
‘But he says he wants eight-figures, over $10million, which is out of the question…
‘They want $10million (£7.5m). We want the guarantee of $5million or $5½million against the percentage and they said, ‘You’ve got to start at eight numbers, at $10million.’
‘They’re just being greedy and that’s one thing that’s really bad about boxing.
Andy Ruiz Jr, who famously beat Anthony Joshua, is another frontrunner to meet Fury
‘Tyson will just have to fight for the Ring Magazine title, he’ll save the [WBC] sanctioning fee money.
‘Hopefully he’ll be successful, then Usyk and Joshua will have fought and the winner will be out there, and he’ll go on to fight them with or without the WBC title.
‘So the loser is gonna be, without any question, Dillian Whyte.’
If an agreement cannot be reached, it is even possible that Fury would vacate the WBC title and face the winner of Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk’s rematch further down the line.
Fury has been enjoying some time off following his superb victory in his trilogy bout with Deontay Wilder.
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