Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte are fighting for £3million bonus in grudge bout

Fury and Whyte are making world record purses for tonight’s meeting at Wembley Stadium, but there’s also an unprecedented bonus involved that will go to the winner of the fight

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Fury and Whyte weigh in ahead of heavyweight world title fight

Dillian Whyte and Tyson Fury are fighting not just for the world heavyweight title, but an eye-watering win bonus of £3million.

The WBC, whose belt is on the line in tonight’s mandatory challenge, have attached a staggering extra factor to the fight, where ten per cent of the purse bid goes to the winner. It would see Whyte add almost half of his earnings to his purse should he pull off the upset, as well as winning the world title.

Generally, purse bids are pretty straight forward with the champion taking the majority and the challenger getting paid a smaller amount. In the case of this fight, it has proven quite controversial after the WBC ruled that Whyte should only get 20 per cent, as opposed to some challengers who have got as much as 45 per cent.

And they have introduced a new clause, which will see 10 per cent of the purse, or just over £3m, go to the winner of the fight as a bonus for his fight. “I’ve got to be honest, we weren’t aware of that going in,” promoter Frank Warren admitted after winning the purse bid with a record £31m offering.

“It’s like having a bet where it could be better for Dillian if that happens and he pulls it off, so he’s got a lot to fight for, it’s a nice carrot certainly for him. We will see what happens.”

After learning of the 80-20 split, among other issues with his contract, Whyte refused to help promote the fight until just days out from the event. He skipped the launch press conference before taking part in a virtual media event that seemingly spelled the end of his feud with Warren.

But just days later he skipped the media workout at Boxpark Wembley, although he has claimed it was due to his flight arriving in too late for the event. He has since shown up for the pre-fight press conference and appeared friendly with Fury at the event, as well as yesterday’s weigh-ins.

Who do you think wins tonight; Tyson Fury or Dillian Whyte? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

“It’s not the Tyson Fury show, his fights with Detonay Wider didn’t sell out, it’s not just the Tyson Fury show,” Whyte said of his silence. “This show sold out because of me and Tyson Fury. This is about Tyson Fury and me, it’s the Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte show.

“I don’t dance to no-ones tune. We can dance together but it can’t be one-way traffic. I’m a disciplined guy, I’ve learned to be disciplined over the years. You want me to do things? Cool, but I’m a professional. I’ve had six or seven pay-per-view shows and I know how to do things and I’ve always dealt with my opponents if things have been done incorrectly.

‘When these guys are trying to mug me off and treat me like it’s the Tyson Fury show, they needed to get things corrected. Once things were corrected… I’m a professional at the end of the day and here I am.”

Whyte is being paid around £6m for his involvement in the bout, a career-high purse, while Fury will make £21m. They would both benefit significantly from the bonus, although Fury is heavily favoured with the bookies to win the fight.