Dillian Whyte is once again in a holding pattern as he waits for an offer to face former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in the northern summer.
This week it was announced that Joshua 24-3 (22) will square up next against Whyte’s former victim Jermaine Franklin 21-1 (14), who the Brixton Body Snatcher defeated by majority decision last November.
Promoter Eddie Hearn has been vocal for months about a potential third fight between Joshua and Whyte – Joshua won in the pros while Whyte holds an amateur victory – but it seems little has been done to make the bout a reality.
“AJ’s doing what he wants to do. Listen, if he really wants to fight me it’s not very hard to make,” Whyte 29-3 (19) said to Sportsmail.
“It’s 1-1 and I’ve been chasing that fight for the last seven years. I don’t understand why we can’t get the fight on.”
Although they share the same promoter in Hearn, Whyte has frequently vented his frustrations at playing second fiddle to top drawcard Joshua.
“Obviously it’s a big fight for Britain and for DAZN, [who] need big fights and big content. I don’t know why they’re not pushing for it,” Whyte said.
“Eddie has talked a lot about the fight, but they couldn’t commit to actually making it. Waste of time talking about it! We’ve had no offer for that fight or serious talks. It’s very frustrating.”
There was talk of Whyte facing Joshua in 2019 but those negotiations failed to secure a fight for the 35-year-old, who says he was offered less for the bout than what he made to face former WBO champion Joseph Parker and Derek Chisora.
“Like I said, I’ve spent more time negotiating the price of a set of tyres than they spent negotiating with me to fight AJ in 2019 and we knew that they had already committed to AJ’s US debut at MSG on 1 June,” Whyte said.
Joshua would go on to lose his three championship belts to substitute Andy Ruiz Jr in New York, who stepped in to replace Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller after he was pinged for using performance-enhancing drugs.
Whyte was of the belief that if he beat Franklin, he would be a sure shot to face Joshua mid-year.
“I win and then there’s no conversation about the AJ fight or nothing,” Whyte said. “So obviously I’m not gonna sit around and wait and be used as a scapegoat like they did to me a couple years ago.
“We are just looking to see what’s next and who’s next. I’ve had enough of waiting around. I waited years and years as [WBC] number one contender to fight that coward, fraud [Deontay] Wilder who avoided me and apparently is still scared to fight me which is pathetic.
“That is the problem with boxing. Everyone should have to fight each other like in UFC.”
