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Nick Parkinson
LONDON, ENGLAND — Promoter Eddie Hearn will this week offer Deontay Wilder “$7 or $8million” to fight Dillian Whyte in November.
After unanimously outpointing former WBO titleholder Joseph Parker on Saturday, Hearn plans to give Whyte an interim fight before a possible rematch with English rival Anthony Joshua next year.
WBA-IBF-WBO world heavyweight champion Joshua (21-0, 20 KOs), who also outpointed Parker in March, defends his titles against Russia’s Alexander Povektin on September 22 but Wilder has yet to announce an opponent.
Hearn will hope to convince WBC champion Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs) to face Whyte (24-1, 17 KOs) at at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, New York, with the winner going forward to face Joshua on April 13 next year.
“I would like Dillian Whyte to fight Wilder,” Hearn told reporters after seeing Whyte climb off the canvas in the last round to earn scores of 113-112, 115-110 and 114-111 at the O2 Arena, London.
“Wilder hasn’t got an opponent for November. We could do that on DAZN, on Sky Box Office. Dillian will fight in November or December.
“Everything is held up. If Wilder doesn’t want to fight Dillian then we have to look at Dereck Chisora or Jarrell Miller.
‘[Wilder’s adviser Al] Haymon wanted Breazeale to be the mandatory so that Wilder could fight him and say, ‘I’m fighting the mandatory’.
“Now Breazeale, as the mandatory, wants $2.5million and the numbers don’t add up because that’s what they want to pay Wilder. We offered them $3million plus US TV, then $4million plus US TV so that’s $5million.
“I’d probably go up to $7million or $8million for Deontay Wilder to fight Dillian Whyte now. I’ll be making Wilder an offer this week for Dillian Whyte again.
“We could do it in America, we could do it in Brooklyn. He seems to be worried about coming to the UK so we will do it in Brooklyn. Wilder will want to fight October or November.
“Why wouldn’t he fight Dillian Whyte? He must look at that last round and think, ‘Yeah’. Wilder is a huge puncher so he will think it’s an easy fight and he gets $7million or $8million for it.”
Hearn last month made a $15million offer to Wilder to face Joshua — providing he beats Povetkin — at Wembley Stadium on April 13, but the American is now insisting on a 50-50 split with Joshua.
Hearn is unlikely to accept an even share of the revenue and Whyte has emerged as an alternative option for Joshua, who attracts record crowds in the U.K., in the spring.
“Of course the British public want Joshua against Deontay Wilder but if that doesn’t happen then there is only one other fight they want — Whyte,” Hearn said.
“That won’t be till April though. Whyte has to fight in the meantime. I’d love to do the Chisora rematch , it would be an absolute war. I would also like to do the Deontay Wilder fight.”
Whyte, who floored Parker twice before getting decked himself in the last round, was stopped in the seventh round by Joshua in December 2015.
Joshua, who went on to win the IBF world title in his next fight, lost to Whyte as an amateur.