Heavyweight Dillian Whyte 28-3 (19) is looking to get back in the win column with a victory over Jermaine Franklin at Wembley Arena in London, England on Saturday night.
The bout comes six months after his knockout loss to WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury 32-0-1 (23).
“We’re focused on Jermaine Franklin, he’s an undefeated guy so I’m looking at what’s in front of me. I underperformed that night but I’ve been focused on getting back,” Whyte said to Metro.
“One hundred per cent I chased a rematch but I know to get those I need to beat Franklin.
“Right now, I’m a wounded lion and people are thinking, ‘He’s easy pickings’. The old Dillian hasn’t left but I’ve had a few changes in my camp and changed my style.”
In the wake of the loss to Fury, Whyte hired renowned American trainer Buddy McGirt to take over corner duties.
“I’m not one for blaming people like my team but I needed a bit more experience. That’s what I felt was missing information-wise,” Whyte said.
“Buddy’s one of the last of the good trainers from an era that’s ending. He’s trickling out the last of that knowledge. After speaking to him and doing two or three rounds on the pads with him, we weren’t too far apart.
“We looked at a few guys. When you break down, what they do and how they do it, Buddy gives information in a certain way, a calm manner.
“He treats his fighters individually, he doesn’t try to change them, he just tries to add to them. If you look at [Antonio] Tarver, he didn’t change him at all, just made him more effective as a puncher. He’s trained big guys for big fights. Look at the people he’s trained – nine world champions, [Arturo] Gatti, Tarver…”
Promoter Eddie Hearn sees Whyte taking on former WBA, WBO and IBF world champion Anthony Joshua 24-3 (22) in the new year if he gets past Franklin.
“The winner of the Franklin fight is probably frontrunner to take on Anthony Joshua in the first fight of 2023,” the Matchroom Boxing boss said to Metro. “He wants to fight Deontay Wilder, he would love another crack at Fury, he wants [Oleksandr] Usyk, [Joe] Joyce, [Daniel] Dubois.
“You’ve got four or five fights left, really, and he just wants to face all of those guys, but he needs to have a big win against Franklin and he needs to impress and show he has a lot left.
“AJ’s going to come back in late February, or he will wait for a bigger fight. If he waits, he’ll go straight into the Dillian Whyte fight. If not, we’ll still do that but in the summer after AJ’s fight in February.
“AJ’s not interested in a couple of knock-over jobs, he’s never done it. They all say the same thing: ‘Give me the biggest fight out there.’ Franklin’s fighting to beat Dillian and then face AJ.”
