Tyson Fury v Dillian Whyte: Champion Fury weighs in 12lb lighter than last fight
- Published
Tyson Fury v Dillian Whyte: WBC heavyweight title | |
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Venue: Wembley Stadium, London Date: Saturday, 23 April | |
Coverage: Live text commentary on BBC Sport website and app from 20:00 BST |
WBC and Ring Magazine champion Tyson Fury weighed in 12lb lighter than his previous fight for Saturday's blockbuster heavyweight bout against Dillian Whyte at Wembley.
Fury, 33, hit the scales at 18st 12lb, while challenger Whyte weighed in at 18st 1lb.
The two Britons will fight in front of 94,000 fans - a post-war British record - with Fury making a second defence of the title he won against Deontay Wilder in February 2020.
Fury's drop in weight from the final bout in the Wilder trilogy in October gives a slight indication as to how he may approach the fight.
Against Wilder, Fury went toe-to-toe with the big-punching American. Weighing in lighter suggests Fury may revert back to fighting at range and using his quick feet and movement to outbox Whyte.
The Fury and Whyte show
Whyte, dressed in all black, took to the stage first and was dealt a chorus of boos by the Fury-friendly crowd at BoxPark in Wembley.
The 34-year-old's self-imposed media silence before the fight left many wondering what shape he would come in, but Whyte looked in good condition and is 6lb heavier than when he knocked out Alexander Povetkin in March 2021.
Fury then made his way to the scales. Wearing a white, blue and red tracksuit, the 'Gypsy King' paraded his WBC belt to a pumped-up crowd.
The fighters have shared several social media spats over the years but, just as it was at Wednesday's media conference, there was a jovial atmosphere with no signs of any bad blood. They jokingly tickled each other, shook hands and then swapped baseball caps.
Fury and Whyte almost resembled a double act and gave in the demands of an audience wanting an encore when they returned to the stage. They danced in unison to some music, throwing their hands in the air while bouncing on the spot.
On Wednesday Fury and Whyte calmed down their respective entourages when matters got heated between the two teams.
At the weigh-in, Team Fury and Team Whyte reconciled as the fighters' brothers embraced on stage.
All media commitments and obligatory fight week events are done. The next time these two men lock eyes will be inside the ropes on Saturday evening.
Could this be Fury's last weigh-in?
Britain's Anthony Joshua is expected to fight Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk in a rematch this summer in a bid to reclaim the WBA, IBF and WBO belts he lost in September.
The winner of Fury-Whyte will could then face Joshua or Usyk for an undisputed clash later this year.
But Fury - who has won 31 bouts, with 22 knockouts, and drawn one - has suggested he will retire this weekend regardless of the outcome.
Whyte is challenging for a world title for the first time, having won 28 bouts, with 19 stoppages.
He has two losses on his record - against Joshua in 2015 and a knockout loss to Alexander Povetkin in August 2020, although he avenged his defeat by the Russian seven months later.
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