Whyte eyes Joshua and Fury after win
Dillian Whyte wants to fight the winner of Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury or even former World Boxing Council champion Deontay Wilder following his victory over Alexander Povetkin to reclaim the WBC Interim heavyweight title on Saturday.
His brutal fourth-round left hook knockout leaves “The Bodysnatcher” with a possible crack at the big three or he may sit out a few months to see what transpires in the undisputed mega-fight between Joshua and Fury.
Whyte’s latest rumble certainly puts the Brixton fighter in pole position in the division, as he hunts down a heavyweight world title shot. However, if Fury v Joshua goes ahead as expected, with two fights, it may leave Whyte frozen out for some time.
“I still believe I can beat anyone. I want the world title,” said Whyte, who told The Daily Telegraph last week that with the Fury-joshua fight without a date and venue, he would “stay ready” if an opportunity arose and egos and boxing politics got in the way of the all-british showdown for all the titles.
“The ultimate aim has been for Whyte to challenge for the world heavyweight title,” promoter Eddie Hearn said. “And this was about getting his career back on track.”
Hearn also revealed that Wilder, who has not fought since his devastating loss to Fury in February 2020,
has said he is ready to take the fight with Whyte, having avoided it for three years while he was champion. “He [Wilder] DM’D Dillian, who told him he will never give him that fight,” Hearn said. “I’d like to get Dillian out quickly in the summer and maybe go to the States with him.”
Whyte added: “The thing with Wilder is when legally he should have given me a chance, he didn’t. Now he ain’t got nothing. Why should I give him a chance? Obviously I want to fight the guy but there’s other cats out there we can fight and who deserve it.”
Whyte told IFL TV that, because he had been in a training camp in Portugal for 20 weeks across postponements for the Povetkin rematch, he was yet to hold his newborn son. “My son’s four months old and I’ve never seen him,” said the 32-year-old.
Earlier on the card, Campbell Hatton, the 20-year-old son of British fight legend Ricky Hatton, made a successful professional debut against Spaniard Jesus Ruiz, winning on points in a four-round lightweight contest.
“It was a very proud moment for the family,” Ricky Hatton said. “It feels like only yesterday when I was starting out. There was a bit of pressure on the little fella’s shoulders, but he came through it.”
Carol Hatton, Campbell’s grandmother, said she was unable to watch from her home in Manchester because of nerves. “I was turned away from the television,” she said. “I had my husband Ray telling me what was happening because I was a bag of nerves, double the nerves I had for Richard [Ricky] and Matthew when they fought.”
Hatton will fight again on Hearn’s May 1 card headlined by heavyweights Derek Chisora and Joseph Parker.