By Keith Idec

Dillian Whyte has suffered a foot injury that has forced the postponement of his June 3 fight against Mariusz Wach.

The Whyte-Wach heavyweight fight was supposed to take place at O2 Arena in London, but promoter Eddie Hearn announced Tuesday morning that the match must be rescheduled. Hearn viewed allowing a hobbled Whyte (20-1, 15 KOs) to fight Wach (33-2, 17 KOs) as too risky, particularly because the London-based contender is in position to fight for a heavyweight title.

Whyte is the WBC’s No. 5-ranked contender to its heavyweight champion, Deontay Wilder (38-0, 37 KOs).

“Dillian is on the verge of a world title shot and we can’t afford to enter a fight at this stage not being 100 percent,” Hearn said in a statement released by Matchroom Sport, the British promotional company he serves as managing director. “We expect to see him return in July before challenging for the world heavyweight title towards the end of the year.”

Hearn didn’t specify a new date for the Whyte-Wach fight.

The Jamaican-born Whyte defeated Dereck Chisora in his last fight, a back-and-forth 12-rounder that was widely considered one of the most entertaining encounters of 2016. The 29-year-old Whyte won that December 10 bout by split decision at O2 Arena (115-113, 115-114, 114-115).

The 6-feet-4, 250-pound Whyte has lost only to unbeaten British superstar Anthony Joshua (19-0, 19 KOs). Joshua, the IBF/IBO/WBA heavyweight champion, stopped Whyte in the seventh round of their December 2015 fight at O2 Arena.

Poland’s Wach has lost only to former heavyweight champions Wladimir Klitschko (64-5, 53 KOs) and Alexander Povetkin (31-1, 23 KOs). Wach, 37, beat Germany’s Erkan Teper (16-2, 10 KOs) by unanimous decision in his last bout, a 12-rounder March 18 in Leipzig, Germany.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for krikya360.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.