Boxing: Queensberry Promotions beat Matchroom to stage Fury, Whyte bout

Queensberry Promotions have won the purse bid to stage the WBC heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte.

Frank Warren and Top Rank had been hoping to negotiate a step-aside agreement where Anthony Joshua would allow Fury to head straight into a unification showdown with IBF, WBA and WBO title holder Oleksandr Usyk.

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After failing to find a compromise, a purse bid which had already been delayed several times took place on Friday evening.

Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn backed up his claim to bid aggressively, offering an astonishing $32.22m to stage the event.

However, in what transpired to be the biggest purse bid in the history of boxing, Queensberry bid $41.025m to secure the rights to the bout.

While a date for the contest will now be agreed, Fury is currently in line to earn an 80% split, although that is being contested by the camp of mandatory challenger Whyte.