Whyte urged to accept offer and face Anthony Joshua at Wembley by own promoter Eddie Hearn… or Usyk could take mandatory position
The Body Snatcher knocked Dereck Chisora out in December and could have earned himself a world title shot
DILLIAN WHYTE is being encouraged to take on Anthony Joshua next by their promoter.
Eddie Hearn represents both fighters and is currently working on getting the pair to meet in the ring again.
They fought at the O2 Arena in December 2015, with Joshua earning a seventh-round knockout and has since gone on to claim the IBF, WBA, IBO and WBO heavyweight belts.
And with AJ's next opponent still unconfirmed for his Wembley bout on April 13, a rematch looks to be the most likely option.
Whyte, 30, beat Dereck Chisora in his last fight and immediately called out Joshua who was ringside for the brutal knockout.
Hearn told : "We’ve had a great run with Dillian Whyte. He wants a shot at the world heavyweight title. We’ve delivered that – he doesn’t feel like the package is right at the moment. Now I think it is a good offer.
“It’s a shot at the world heavyweight title, he’s built himself to number one in the division, he’s not a mandatory challenger, AJ’s giving him a shot at the title for multi-millions of pounds.
“There’s probably still some negotiations to do, but it also comes down to how much value you put on a shot at the world heavyweight title?
“These kind of opportunities don’t come around that often for a fighter. It’s a chance to fight AJ in front of 100,000 people at Wembley for the world heavyweight titles.
“You’re going to own the keys to the kingdom if you can beat Anthony Joshua.”
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Whyte rejected the first offer and some reckon he may try and hold out until he is the mandatory challenger for the WBO belt.
He is currently top of the rankings and AJ, 29, may be forced to defend the belt this autumn, entitling the challenger to a 70-30 split of the purse.
But Hearn is worried cruiserweight 'super champion' Oleksandr Usyk - the man who beat Tony Bellew in the Liverpudlian's final bout - may be granted the fight should he step up to heavyweight.
Hearn added: "Under the WBO rules, Usyk, once he steps up – if he steps up – should become that automatic mandatory. I was with the WBO last week in Puerto Rico.
“Dillian is number one. That won’t be called for another month or so, and it’s not due until September/October, but Dillian is in the running to be that mandatory.
“But if you turn down a shot at the world heavyweight title, these don’t come around very often.
“I want to make sure that deal is good enough for him to accept, but I also want him to take it, because this is it. This is the world heavyweight championship.
“You’ve got a chance to fight for it, in your own country, to become the king of the division.”
Plenty of fans of course want AJ to fight Tyson Fury in a mammoth British showdown but a chance to take the WBC belt off Deontay Wilder appears off the cards for now, especially with the Gypsy King and the Bronze Bomber set to fight again after their controversial draw.
A debut across the pond in America for Joshua has also been touted, with Hearn suggesting the Watford-born champ could take on Jarrell Miller in New York later this year.