‘I’m devastated’: Dillian Whyte rues his luck after being forced to cancel his fight against Otto Wallin next week due to a shoulder injury… as Brit’s long wait to face Tyson Fury continues
- Dillian Whyte has been left ‘devastated’ after cancelling his fight with Otto Wallin
- Brit would’ve had a clear path to WBC champion Tyson Fury with win over Wallin
- The 33-year-old has had to withdraw from his fight against the Swedish fighter
- Whyte suffered a shoulder injury while preparing for the bout in Portugal
- It remains to be seen whether next week’s card will now be scrapped entirely
Dillian Whyte admits he has been left ‘devastated’ after being forced to pull out of his heavyweight fight with Otto Wallin next weekend.
The British heavyweight suffered a shoulder injury in training and is no longer able to take on the powerful Swede on October 30, it has been confirmed.
His withdrawal means there is no obvious next opponent for Tyson Fury, who retained his WBC heavyweight title with victory Deontay Wilder in their trilogy fight.
Dillian Whyte will no longer be fighting Otto Wallin next weekend due to a shoulder injury
Whyte would almost certainly have been next for WBC champ Tyson Fury had he beaten Wallin
‘I am devastated as I had a great camp, was in great shape, and had great sparring,’ Whyte told Sky Sports.
‘I was looking forward to knocking Wallin out and would have done so in the first half of the fight.
‘I am devastated about not being able to fight on October 30 but I want to thank everyone for all of their support.’
The ‘Body Snatcher’ had been preparing to take on Wallin, 30, with a training camp in Portugal and had been due to fly back to the UK next week.
Had Whyte been able to beat Wallin, all roads would have led to a showdown with Fury as the mandatory challenger.
The Brixton fighter has waited over 600 days for his title shot – he maintains that he must fight Fury next and that the WBC must compel the Gypsy King to face him.
And while he remains the mandatory challenger, Wallin’s promoter hopes Whyte can make a full recovery and reschedule the fight.
‘It’s very disappointing,’ Wallin’s promoter, Dmitriy Salita, told Sky Sports.
Wallin is improving all the time and gave Fury a huge test when they fought back in 2019
Fury was badly cut by Wallin and only just survived without the fight being called to a halt
‘If it is an injury, then he should heal, and they should reschedule this event. That would be the fair thing to do.
‘It would not be fair to the sport of boxing for Dillian Whyte to have an injury, whatever it is, and as a result of that, to be able to be mandated to fight Fury. The WBC will pass what I feel is an important decision, which should set things right.’
Wallin pushed Fury hard when the pair fought and only the expertise of a cut man prevented the contest being waved off after the underdog opened up a massive gash on Fury’s eye.
The narrative was clear ahead of Whyte’s clash with Wallin and a confident victory would have nicely set up the Fury fight.
At present, it remains to be seen whether the London card next weekend will go ahead or be scrapped entirely.
Whyte knew that he would have the best claim by far to face Fury next had he beaten Wallin
Whyte avenged his defeat by Alexander Povetkin earlier this year to put him back on track for a title shot.
But the Wallin camp was equally confident going in and his promoter recently said: ‘Otto had two impressive wins since that outing and a win over Whyte would make him the most eligible opponent for Fury and in my mind the second-best heavyweight in the world based on merit.’
It remains to be seen whether the fight will be rearranged and how long Whyte will be sidelined with his injury.
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