Dillian Whyte and Tyson Fury will fight at Wembley Stadium on Saturday for the WBC heavyweight championship; Sky customers will be able to buy the BT Box Office fight through Sky
Wednesday 20 April 2022 17:19, UK
Frank Warren is braced for an appetiser to Wembley's main course when Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte finally share the stage during Wednesday's press conference.
The occasion will be the first time the pair have gone face-to-face since the making of the fight, with Whyte having missed last month's ticket launch event amid his media silence throughout the build-up.
Warren, Fury's promoter, admitted to Sky Sports he was "disappointed" by Whyte's additional absence at public workouts on Tuesday after the Brixton man - due to land back from his Portugal training camp earlier in the day - failed to show.
Nonetheless, it offered yet another absorbing twist ahead of an all-British title showdown due to be watched by a European fight-record 94,000 fans inside Wembley Stadium.
"Yes we are (expecting fireworks), it's going to be quite an interesting one," Warren told Sky Sports.
"They've both got their different views about how the fight is going to go, they both fancy it.
"One thing I know is that I'm hearing Dillian is having his best camp ever of preparation and that's been the same for Tyson so we should get some real fireworks."
Fury returns to fight on British soil for the first time since 2018 after wrapping up his trilogy against Deontay Wilder with an 11th-round knockout win to retain his WBC heavyweight title in Las Vegas last October.
"This is Tyson's homecoming," Warren added. "He's been away for nearly four years now, his impact here is brilliant and the fans clearly appreciate what he's done out on his travels and he's come back and sold this venue very quickly, that tells you the place he's got in the fans' hearts in the UK.
"It's the biggest show I've ever been involved with, because it's the biggest selling boxing event ever in Europe and it's the highest grossing fight and event to take at Wembley so that's where we are, it doesn't get any bigger than that."
Fury has long insisted he will not underestimate the dangerous Whyte, who secured his eagerly-awaited title shot with victory over Alexander Povetkin in their March 2021 rematch.
Both have promised the best versions of themselves. Both know it will be needed.
"I was talking to Tyson yesterday for quite a while, talking to his dad, and as he said it's the best he's ever prepared, best camp he's ever been in," explained Warren.
"I look at his last three fights with Wilder, I know there were problems in the camp, but this is a good camp and that can only be great for Tyson's perspective and we'll see an even better Tyson."
What lies in wait after Saturday for Fury, who previously suggested he would retire after the fight, remains to be seen amid the possibility of a meet with the winner of Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk's rematch later this summer.
Warren will leave that to the man himself.
"I don't look beyond anything," he said. "Whatever he chooses to do it's his decision. As his friend and promoter, I just want him to win the fight."
Speaking to Sky Sports after opting out of Tuesday's workouts, Whyte admitted there had been a lot of "craziness" during the build-up to the fight.
"Me and my team tried to get stuff done in advance but the other team wasn't as cooperative. Now we seem to be getting there," he said.
"It's a shame it has gone down to the wire as we could have made it a major event but this is boxing and nothing surprises me.
"I am a professional. I do my job. If things we where they needed to be and they weren't trying to play silly b*****s I would have been face-to-face [with Fury] a long time ago. I am not here to jump to Tyson Fury's tune, we have to jump to the same tune."
If you wish to purchase Tyson Fury v Dillian Whyte on BT Sport Box Office on 23rd April 2022, please visit www.sky.com/boxoffice/btsport .
