Dillian Whyte was set to fight on the Fabio Wardley vs Justis Huni undercard this Sunday, but that will no longer be the case.
Dillian Whyte, 31-3, has not fought since his December match-up with Ebenezer Tetteh, a fight which left fans with more questions than answers regarding where Whyte is in his career.
Tetteh, who scored a punchless KO, was flattened in one round in his next fight against Frazer Clarke.
Whyte was set to face Joe Joyce, but withdrew with injury. He was then said to be featuring on the Wardley vs Huni card, but this has not happened either.
One heavyweight, who is only 1-0 in the division, claims Whyte is ‘running scared’ from a fight with him.
Lawrence Okolie calls out Dillian Whyte for a fight this year
In an appearance on TalkSport, Lawrence Okolie, who made his heavyweight debut in December, winning by first-round KO, has slated Whyte, suggesting he wants to fight the British heavyweight, but that ‘The Bodysnatcher’ is avoiding him.
Okolie, who was in talks with Luis Ortiz for a fight, told TalkSport that an agreement was made at the Whyte vs Joyce press conference, before Whyte’s withdrawal, that the pair would fight:
“I said win, lose, or draw for him, we’ve got to fight. We shook hands, but in the background, you’ve got to ask Frank Warren why the fight’s not happening, he’s been running scared left, right, and center.”
Okolie, who was set to fight Richard Riakporhe, says Whyte’s withdrawal from the Wardley card should mean the pair can get it on next:
“The fact he’s pulled out now. I’m relatively free, he’s relatively free. If there’s a time to get it on why not now?”
Lawrence Okolie was deducted five points once and one judge still scored the fight a draw
Before Okolie’s heavyweight debut, the Brit made a stop in the bridgerweight division.
Before that, Okolie was a fully-fledged cruiserweight world champion, until one night in 2023, when he lost his title in a messy fight against Chris Billam-Smith.
Okolie was dropped three times in the fight, in the 4th, 10th, and 11th rounds, and was deducted a further two points for excessive holding in the 5th and 7th rounds.
After 12 rounds, one judge scored the fight 112-112.