Tyson Fury’s dad John Fury has ruled out a fight against Dillian Whyte, telling his son it’s ‘Usyk or nothing’.
Whyte looks to be the Gypsy King’s likeliest next opponent following Fury’s win over Deontay Wilder at the weekend.
There had been plenty of speculation before the fight as to who Fury could face next, with Oleksandr Usyk’s win over Anthony Joshua laying waste to plans for him to finally meet the latter.
Having dealt with Wilder thanks to an 11th-round stoppage in Las Vegas – handing Fury his second win over his opponent following last year’s seventh-round knockout – Whyte would appear to be the next cab off the rank should he beat Otto Wallin later this month.
Fury will be ordered by the WBC to fight the winner of that bout if a unification bout cannot be rearranged, meaning a mandatory defence looks to be his most likely route.
Fury’s dad John though has poured cold water over the prospect of his son facing Whyte though, pointing towards his defeat to Alexander Povetkin last year as evidence that he wouldn’t be a big enough opponent for his son.
“He’s got to go up for Usyk or nothing in my eyes. It’s Usyk next or nothing,” Fury told talkSPORT.
“Would Dillian Whyte deal with Deontay Wilder? No, so why would we want to put him in with my son and get him knocked out?
“At the end of the day, he’s just got knocked out by a 42-year-old. Tyson can’t get up for those kind of fights.
“He wouldn’t be able to raise his game for that fight because it’s not big enough. He goes in there with a lacklustre attitude, you don’t see the best of Tyson.
“You only see the best of Tyson when he’s against the best. For me, I’ve told him, Usyk or don’t bother.”
It’s unlikely Fury will be able to secure an immediate unification bout with Usyk, with Eddie Hearn revealing over the weekend that a rematch had been triggered with Joshua.
That fight looks set to go ahead next spring, which would likely mean Fury will have to undergo a mandatory defence in the meantime.
