Old pals Fury and Whyte playful at weigh-in
Also: 'Zurdo' Ramirez fight set for May 14 DAZN card; purse bid result for Taylor-Puello
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As is custom, heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and WBC interim titlist and mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte went face-to-face moments after weighing in on Friday before a raucous crowd in London.
But their initial steely stares quickly dissolved to smiles and playfulness. The shorter 6-foot-4 Whyte got up in his tippy toes and the massive 6-9 Fury dipped his knees to shorten himself.
They smiled, shook hands and slapped each other on the back. They even traded the baseball hats they were wearing in a sign of respect and then put their arms around each other.
It’s been all respect and friendliness between these old mates during fight week. But that figures to come to a screeching halt on Saturday (ESPN PPV in the U.S. for $69.99, BT Sport Box Office in the U.K., 2 p.m. ET) when they meet for the world championship at Wembley Stadium, where a British-record crowd of 94,000 is expected.
“People are gonna be enjoying this fight because we’re putting it all on the line,” Fury said after getting off the scale. “We’ve both trained very, very well for this. As you can see I’m in a fantastic mood. Me spirits are high. We’re ready to rock ‘n roll and have a fight.”
Fury (30-0-1, 22 KOs), 34, who has vowed he will retire after the fight, weighed in at 264.8 pounds, considerably lighter and than the career-high 277 pounds he weighed for his 11th-round knockout victory in his third fight with former titlist Deontay Wilder in October in the 2021 fight of the year in Las Vegas.
“The last Wilder fight I was 277, we had four weeks training for that, I had a baby who (nearly) died in hospital and I came out and fought the man and knocked him out,” said Fury, who will defend the lineal championship for the eighth time and the WBC belt for the second time. “This time I’ve had 14 weeks training. Back in the U.K. I’m absolutely over the moon. Me and Dillian go back 10 years or more. When we were training in Belgium we had fuck all and tomorrow we’re gonna be millionaires! Come on!”
Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs), 34, was 253.25 pounds, six more than he weighed for his fourth-round destruction of Alexander Povetkin in March 2021 to avenge a knockout loss seven months earlier.
“It feels good to be fighting for the world title. It feels amazing to do it in front of a massive crowd of my people,” Whyte said.
Asked how he’s pull the upset, he was quick to reply, “By doing what I have done my whole life. Finding a way. Adapting.”
As for the weight gain from his previous bout, Whyte said it was meaningless.
“We in shape, man. We in shape. Different fight, different style,” Whyte said. “I’m ready to go. We had a lot of shit going on to get the fight but we got the fight done and we’re here now, so now I’m focused on the fight.”
Undercard weights: Ekow Essuman 146.5, Darren Tetley 145.75 (for Essuman's Commonwealth and British welterweight titles); Isaac Lowe 125.25, Nick Ball 125.5; David Adeleye 232.4, Chris Healey 282; Tommy Fury 177.75, Daniel Bocianski 175; Karol Itauma 175.75, Michael Ciach 175.75; Royston Barney-Smith 132, Constantin Radoi 132; Kurt Walker 129, Stefan Nicolae 127.4
‘Zurdo’ risks mandatory spot
Light heavyweight contender Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez will take on Dominic Boesel in a 12-rounder that will headline a Golden Boy card on DAZN on May 14 at Toyota Arena in Ontario, California, Golden Boy announced on Friday.
Ramirez will risk his status as the mandatory challenger for WBA 175-pound titlist Dmitry Bivol, who is scheduled to defend against undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on May 7.
“May 14 is not too far away, and I feel great about how everything is going,” Ramirez, a former super middleweight titleholder, said. “I know Dominic is the best light heavyweight from Germany, and he'll bring his best. This is a good step towards my overall goal, and I'm glad I'll be able to put on a great show come fight night.”
Ramirez (43-0, 29 KOs), a 30-year-old southpaw from Mexico, who will be in his third fight since signing with Golden Boy last year, has looked outstanding in his first two fights with the company, a fourth-round knockout of former title challenger Sullivan Barrera in July and an 11th-round knockout of Yunieski Gonzalez in December.
Boesel (32-2, 12 KOs), 32, of Germany, is a former WBA interim titlist. He has won two fights in a row, most recently a 12-round split decision over countryman Robin Krasniqi in October to avenge third-round knockout loss in October 2020 that cost him the interim belt.
“I’m looking forward to going to California for a great fight against a tough opponent in ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez,” said Boesel, who will be fighting in the United States for the first time. “I'm sure this fight will please the boxing fans worldwide.”
In the co-feature, exciting Mexican lightweight William Zepeda (25-0, 23 KOs), a 25-year-old southpaw, will defend his regional belt against former junior lightweight titlist Rene Alvarado (32-11, 21 KOs), 33, of Nicaragua, in a 10-round bout.
Alvarado has lost three fights in a row, all by decision, including back-to-back title fights to Roger Gutierrez and to former title challenger Lamont Roach in his last outing in December.
Quick hit
At a WBA purse bid on Friday, TGB Promotions, the lone bidder, won promotional rights to a fight between undisputed junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor (19-0, 13 KOs), 31, of Scotland, and WBA mandatory challenger Alberto Puello (20-0, 10 KOs), 27, of the Dominican Republic. TGB bid $200,000 for a fight that has virtually no chance to happen. Taylor promoter Top Rank, which met with him this week in London during Fury-Whyte fight week, did not bid and Taylor likely will vacate. If Taylor was to fight Puello under the purse bid terms he is entitled to only $110,000 (55 percent) even though he has earned millions for recent fights. Puello would get $90,000 (45 percent).
Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank
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