Dillian Whyte has questioned whether Anthony Joshua is “serious” about a heavyweight rematch as he revealed that negotiations do not “seem real”.
The Brixton man has hoped to finalise a second professional fight against Joshua, reigniting a burning rivalry that stretches back to the amateur ranks, but there has been no progress in discussions between the two fighters.
Talks previously broke down for a Wembley rematch in 2019, with Joshua instead targeting his US debut, which ended in defeat against Andy Ruiz Jr.
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Dillian Whyte says Anthony Joshua’s performance ‘was not spectacular’ despite returning to winning ways with a unanimous points victory against Jermaine Franklin
“It’s a big fight, it’s eight weeks away and there’s no communication, nothing,” Whyte told Sky Sports. “Just nothing. Nothing at all. They’re just wasting time messing about.
“It just doesn’t seem real. They’re trying to put me in the same position they did a few years ago, saying: ‘Oh, we’re trying to make the Joshua fight.’
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“These big fights take time. There’s lots of things that go on, there’s lots of small print and this team want that and that team want this. There’s a lot of things that go on. It takes a long time to make these big fights.”
But Whyte still hopes that the Joshua fight can be made in the next few months.
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Image: Dillian Whyte beat Jermaine Franklin in November
“This is heavyweight boxing, stranger things have happened. Obviously I will still train and try and stay focused and stay ready in case it happens. Because I’ve been up for fighting Joshua since the day I lost to him in 2015,” he said.
“The score is 1-1 so far. He’s won one. I beat him in the amateurs, he beat me in the pros so I want to get even.
“I would love nothing more than to have a chance to avenge my defeat,” Whyte added. “I’ll just go to war. I want to go to war because I think that’s a good way to fight him, pressure him, back him up and start getting him on the backfoot as early as possible and I’m strong enough, I’m big enough to do that.
“I carry enough power obviously to back him up and to knock him out.”
He also believes it’s the right fight for Anthony Joshua as well. “I’m someone that will always get in his head and forever be able to get in his head and forever be able to throw him off his gameplan. That’s just how it is,” Whyte said.
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Dillian Whyte says he believes a fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will not happen insisting he is ready to face either opponent
“I think now’s a very good time for me to fight him because lately he’s shown lack of motivation, whatever, I don’t know. Now’s a good time for me to get in his head. But also he will turn up for a fight with me as well. So that’s what makes it good.”
But Whyte thinks Joshua could have one eye on a fight with Deontay Wilder in the Middle East at the end of the year.
“I don’t think that they’re serious about the fight [with him]. They’re worrying about the fight and I don’t blame them. If he’s going to get £50m to fight Wilder in Saudi in December it just baffles me. Why would they take a chance fighting me? It doesn’t make sense. So I’m not surprised to be honest,” Whyte said.
Whyte argues that a superior offer would show serious intent to make the rematch.
“Eddie [Hearn] and Joshua and his team, they just need to pull their socks up and come with some realistic offers,” he said.
Image: Whyte is still waiting to confirm his next fight
“You wouldn’t start [at] something that you know is below acceptable. That’s not the way you do business. Unless he’s just trying to make it look like ‘oh we offered him, he turned it down’. I don’t know. Why would they also book the O2 for a fight with me and Joshua? It’s a big fight with a good supporting undercard. That fight would do 60,000, 70,000 tickets.
“Why would they book the O2? Unless they’re planning to use my name then fight someone else like a lower name guy.”
He insists a long-awaited return bout with Joshua deserves to be staged at a venue with a far greater attendance.
“These big fights, they need to be dealt with properly and built properly. They can be built into mega-fights,” he said. “I think it can fill Wembley [stadium].
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WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman says Tyson Fury has been a ‘victim’ in the ‘drama’ of fight negotiations, but expects him to be back in the ring again soon
“Me and [Tyson] Fury filled it. Me and Joshua are the next two big guys outside Fury, so why not?”
Fury vs Ngannou next?
Whyte has suggested that the next time Tyson Fury appears in a boxing ring former UFC champion Francis Ngannou will be in the opposite corner.
“I don’t know what’s going on with Fury and [Oleksandr] Usyk, apparently he’s going to be fighting Francis Ngannou in a huge super-fight or something like that. Usyk’s going to fight Daniel Dubois,” Whyte said.
“I think in Wilder’s head he’s going to fight Joshua in December. So they’re doing the smart thing. They’re waiting for that.
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PFL’s head of European operations Dan Hardy discusses the chances of Francis Ngannou facing the likes of Tyson Fury in MMA or boxing
“I think that’s [Fury’s] next fight – Francis Ngannou. I don’t blame him. These guys don’t want to fight. At least he’s actively trying to fight and actively trying to do something so I don’t blame him.
“The division just seems a mess at the minute. It’s like these guys have this massive carrot in December dangling, which is messing everything up for guys like us, the rest of the top guys.”
Dillian Whyte is a VOW Nutrition athlete, the sports supplements trusted by the Elite.
Sourse: skysports.com
