Dillian Whyte has hit out at Tyson Fury, branding the WBC heavyweight champion "The Gypsy Coward", after Bob Arum called for his mandatory title defence to be cancelled.

Arum, the Fury's US promoter, says the mandatory defence his fighter is due to make against Whyte by February 2021 should be "eliminated" or alternatively postponed for one year. 

He asked the WBC to make changes because the coronavirus pandemic has left boxers unable to compete for three months, with upcoming fights needing to take place behind closed doors.

Arum claimed a bout between Whyte and Fury in the US would generate little interest, representing a "meaningless" fight, adding he was "sick and tired" of having to put his marquee clients in matches that "mean nothing".

But WBC interim champion Whyte was having none of it, claiming this is the latest excuse from the Fury camp to avoid giving him a title shot he feels he has earned.

"Arum's talking rubbish," Whyte said to Sky Sports. "If he represented me, he'd be screaming that this is the biggest travesty in the history of boxing.

"Nearly 1,000 days as number one without being given a shot, whereas Tyson Fury barely scraped by the WBC number 31 ranked Otto Wallin in front of only 3,500 people.

"Then [he was] gifted my mandatory position without fighting an eliminator, never mind a final eliminator."

Fury is currently preparing for a third bout against former world champion Deontay Wilder.

Whyte added: "Fury won the belt off that pathetic hype job Deontay Wilder as his legs were too weak to carry it any longer after running away from me for years.

"It now looks like the two of them are in a relay. The WBC had originally agreed that the winner of Wilder-Fury II had to fight me by May 2020.

"Now Wilder's injured and Arum's trying to delay my shot further. It's all wrong and has nothing to do with COVID-19.

"If he was fit to fight, they could fight in July. Who cares if they don't have an audience? Big deal. Both of them have fought most of their careers with hardly any audience.

"The WBC should order Fury to fight me next but I don't think 'The Gypsy Coward' will. The whole thing's a joke and I'm not putting up with it anymore."

Whyte is scheduled to face Russian Alexander Povetkin in 2020, while there have also been talks over a contest against UFC star Francis Ngannou.

The Briton feels he has little left to prove, adding: "I have been ranked number one since 2017 and have fought more top-15 contenders than Wilder and Fury combined. 

"I am the Ring Magazine number two ranked heavyweight in the world, higher than Wilder.

"No one is mentioning me as they are scared of fighting me. One hundred per cent I beat Fury. He knows it and that's why he doesn't want to face me. We have history. He has run in the past and he's running scared now."