Dillian Whyte to be mandatory for Deontay Wilder’s heavyweight belt if he beats Oscar Rivas as Brit comes up to 600 DAYS as No1 in WBC rankings

DILLIAN WHYTE could finally be mandatory challenger for the WBC title if he beats Oscar Rivas - having spent 600 days as the organisation’s No1 ranked challenger.

Whyte, 31, has been top-ranked by the body since 2017 while holding their “Silver” title - but has always been overlooked as mandatory challenger.

Instead No4 ranked Dominic Breazeale was handed the shot at Deontay Wilder’s title after the rematch with Tyson Fury was shelved.

The WBC reportedly offered to have Luis Ortiz and Whyte face off in a “second mandatory” eliminator - with the winner guaranteed the next shot at the title.

But that failed to materialise and Wilder will now rematch Ortiz later this year, while Whyte meets unbeaten Rivas at the O2 Arena on April 20.

Promoter Eddie Hearn told the London clash next month will have the “interim title” at stake - effectively securing the mandatory position for the winner.

Hearn said: "We're getting there, it's very important that this is solved this week.

"We know that the interim world title fight and mandatory position is there, it's just when, when does that mandatory happen?

"We will fight tooth and nail for Dillian Whyte on this. This week, it will be 600 days that he has been WBC No 1, it's incredible, he deserves justice.

"We are right now on the brink of making that happen.

“All we've got to do is just confirm some very fair points and we can get rid of this whole mess and everyone can move on with their lives.

"It's very, very likely that the Rivas fight will be a final eliminator and for an interim world title."

Wilder, 33, has also announced he will rematch Fury, 30, if he is successful against Cuban veteran Ortiz - with the possibility of a trilogy bout to follow against the Brit.

This would mean Whyte’s title shot gets further backdated - and Hearn furiously claimed the trilogy bout “cannot go ahead” before his man gets a shot at the belt.

But Fury’s US promoter Bob Arum hit back revealing the WBO and then the IBF are the next two organisations to call a mandatory title defence.

That means Wilder and Fury will be free to complete their potential trilogy saga without the fear of a mandatory defence being called.