Dillian Whyte will be defending his WBC interim heavyweight title against Chris Arreola on October 30th at the O2 Arena in London, UK. Eddie Hearn says he and Whyte both want Arreola (38-7-1, 33 KOs) as his next opponent, and they’re waiting to see if he agrees to it.
With Arreola, 40, having lost his last couple of fights, he’s not in the position to turn down a great opportunity like this against Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs).
Not only will the money be good for Arreola with him facing Whyte in the main event on this DAZN broadcast fight, but he’ll have the chance to put himself in a position for a world title if he wins.
Arreola can still punch, as we saw in his last fight against former IBF/WBA/WBO champion Andy Ruiz Jr. on May 1st. In the second round, Arreola dropped Ruiz Jr with a big right-hand shot to the head.
Hearn says if Arreola doesn’t take the fight with Whyte, they’ve got Jermaine Franklin, former WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck and several other fighters as options.
The 36-year-old Huck (42-5-1, 28 KOs) is an option that Hearn found out about earlier this week when the European Boxing Union ordered him and Whyte to square off for their EBU heavyweight title.
That fight isn’t as appealing to Hearn right now compared to the Arreola match, as he’s more well-known in the U.S and has a little more left in the tank at this stage in his career.
“We like Chris Arreola. I like that fight because Dillian, of course, wants to fight Andy Ruiz, and I think that would be a good statement. I think it would be a war as well,” said Eddie Hearn to Boxing Social on the possible next opponent for Whyte on October 30th.
“We’ll see if he accepts the fight, and there’s Jermaine Franklin [as another potential option for Whyte].
“The EBU just ordered Marco Huck as well for the European title. There are a few others, but October 30th is the date, and you’re going to see another stacked card at the O2.
“We got that out yesterday, and be ready to buy tickets next week,” said Hearn.
Whyte, 33, can’t afford to lose to Arreola or anyone at this point because he’s hoping to get his first title shot. He’s been ranked highly by the World Boxing Council for years without being given a crack at one of the champions.
A year ago, Whyte suffered a shocking fifth round knockout loss to Alexander Povetkin on August 22, 2020, at the Matchroom HQ in Brentwood, Essex.
Povetkin caught Whyte with a perfect left uppercut that knocked him out. In their rematch last March, Whyte knocked Povetkin out in the fourth round to avenge his defeat.