According to a report by BoxingScene journalist Ron Lewis, the showdown for Dillian Whyte’s WBC interim heavyweight title against Alexander Povetkin is likely to take place on August 15 on the grounds of Matchroom headquarters, in Essex, after the Manchester program that was supposed to include it was formally cancelled.
The program was initially scheduled for May but was delayed to July 4 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Now that show has been removed entirely, while two other July shows: Lee Selby’s IBF lightweight title eliminator against George Kambosos Jr., and Lewis Ritson’s fight with Miguel Vázquez, have moved to the October 3 and October 17, respectively.
It has been known for a long time that no appearances would be made to fans in the UK for the foreseeable future and Eddie Hearn revealed to Boxing Scene last week that Whyte-Povetkin would appear in the fourth and final edition of his outdoor show Fight. Camp at Brentwood, alongside Katie Taylor’s lightweight world title defence against Amanda Serrano.
The show would be at Sky Box Office in the UK and DAZN in North America.
Now it seems likely that the Fight Camp series will begin on July 25, meaning the Whyte-Povetkin undercard project should be on August 15.
Plans for the show received a boost this week from the UK Government, which confirmed that elite athletes would be excluded from the 14-day quarantine restrictions that will apply to anyone arriving in the UK starting June 8.. The quarantine would affect any foreign officials, however.
Hearn revealed that he now expects the first Fight Camp show to feature Chris Jenkins defending his British and Commonwealth welterweight titles against Conor Benn. Hearn had initially hoped to pair Benn with Johnny Garton, the former British champion, only for Garton to decide to retire.
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