Frank Warren has confirmed that he has a mystery opponent on standby, ready to step in and save the show if Dillian Whyte pulls out of his WBC and Ring Magazine heavyweight world title challenge against Tyson Fury. The two British heavyweights collide in front of a record 94,000 crowd at Wembley Stadium on April 23 – yet there are still lingering doubts as to whether the bout goes ahead.
That’s because Whyte is continuing his silence just over two weeks out from the biggest fight of his career.
The Body Snatcher failed to show for the press conference and is refusing to get involved in any of the promotion of the fight ahead of the crunch meeting in north London.
His legal team remain engulfed in a dispute with Queensbury Promotions chief Warren, who blew Matchroom Boxing and Eddie Hearn out of the water with a record-breaking £31million purse bid.
Whyte will still take home a career-high £6.2m whatever the outcome of the contest and for that reason, Warren is adamant he must show interest in the promotion.
READ MORE: Dillian Whyte shares criticism of Tyson Fury undercard in first fight social media post
In the meantime, Warren is not prepared to watch the spectacle potentially crash and burn if Whyte continues to play games.
He confirmed to Seconds Out that there is a replacement opponent for Fury on standby, in case Whyte withdraws…
“The truth of the matter is that we cover all bases,” Warren said when asked if it was the case.
“Do you not think that with an event of this magnitude, that we would not be covering that scenario? Of course, we cover that scenario.”
Understandably, Warren did not go into further detail when quizzed on the identity of the potential stand-in.
Despite the bad blood between the pair, Warren remains convinced Whyte has been poorly advised, outlining his frustration that fans have been robbed of a special build-up to the fight.
“I genuinely believe that Dillian Whyte has cut his nose off to spite his face,” Warren recently told talkSPORT.
“He should’ve been there [at the press conference], and there was a platform there for him to create an opportunity in order to not only build him but to create narratives that we will use to build up to that particular fight.
“We wanted to see Dillian Whyte, irrespective of being totally unprofessional in the way he’s behaving to help promote this fight.
“It’s so ridiculous what they’ve done, him and his team. He’s badly advised and if he’s making the final decision then he’s plain stupid.
“It’s become, and what I always felt it would be, is the Tyson Fury homecoming show. And that’s how it turned out to be.”
Whyte briefly broke his silence in midweek when he shared a complaint that his fighter Alen Babic was missing from the undercard on his Instagram story, following Queensbury’s announcement.