
Former heavyweight contender Dillan Whyte keeps getting big chances for some reason. Whyte has turned down an offer to face Lawrence Okolie on December 19th in Nigeria. Okolie has still not confirmed his opponent for the scheduled fight date.
The issue isn't so much that Whyte would only have a few weeks to train for the fight, but rather financial considerations.
"I thought it was a joke or some sort of typo because the offer was so embarrassing,“ Platform Sport CEO, Michael Ofo, said in an interview with talkSPORT. “I didn't even tell Dillian because it just made no sense. You want to have a fight with three weeks' notice, with money so low that Dillian hasn't made it in the last 10 years or so?”
Amir Khan’s promotional company had made the offer for Dillian Whyte to top the card against Okolie, a former WBO cruiserweight champion who is now campaigning at heavyweight. He destroyed Hussein Muhamed in one round in 2024 and more recently earned a 10-round victory over Keven Lerene (31-4, 15 Kos) on July 19th at Wembley Stadium in London.
Both of those heavyweight fights were for the WBC Silver Heavyweight title, which Okolie hopes to defend.
Whyte was last seen in the ring in August on a card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In that fight, he was blown out in one round by Moses Ituama. Whyte’s awkward walk towards the ring was all you needed to see, and clearly, Whyte’s legs have seen better days. The hope had been that Whyte might give Ituama a few rounds of work instead of just a few seconds.
A fight between Whyte and Okolie would be a bit of a grudge match as the two fighters have battled back and forth on social media after a disputed sparring session years ago.
Its hard to see this one happening on December 19. Okolie has great footwork, but Whyte’s legs are almost gone. If and when we see Whyte back in the ring (and he should think long and hard about retirement), it will likely be against a far less credible opponent than Okolie.
If Whyte is looking to cash out on his name, there isn’t just Okolie, of course. There are still more than a few contenders who would be keen to add his name to their record sheet.
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