Promoter Frank Warren has called Dillian Whyte 'a disgrace' after the mandatory challenger failed to turn up to a press conference ahead of his scheduled bout against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
At the end of January, Warren's Queensberry Promotions won a purse bid to stage the fight, which is due to be held at Wembley Stadium on April 23.
However, Whyte has remained silent on the bout at his training camp in Portugal, and turned down the chance to attend a media briefing on Tuesday afternoon.
Warren has revealed that an attempt was made to put on a private jet for Whyte on Monday, only for that late offer to be rejected, and it has led to Fury's representative criticising the fellow British fighter.
Speaking at a press conference, Warren said: "I've never of a fighter not turning up for a press conference for a big fight. He's getting eight times more than Tyson got to fight [Wladimir] Klitschko. He's getting more than [Anthony] Joshua got to fight [Charles] Martin. He's getting more than [Oleksandr] Usyk got to fight Joshua.
"Champions bank on themselves to win. It's what they do to become the king. Usyk did it, Ruiz did it, Tyson did it. Dillian should be here, but he isn't. It's disgraceful that he is not here. It's not professional. If someone else had won a purse bid, we would have made it work. It's madness."
Whyte has been left frustrated by several delays in securing a world title fight having held the number one position in the WBC rankings since before the coronavirus pandemic started at the end of 2019.
