Dillian Whyte insists he was not “outclassed” by Tyson Fury at Wembley Stadium as he targets another high-profile showdown with the WBC heavyweight champion.
‘The Bodysnatcher’ finally got his long-awaited shot at a world title in an eagerly-awaited all-British clash in front of a European record 94,000 fans on Saturday night, a bout that represented Fury’s homecoming and first fight on UK soil since 2018. It was his first bout against an opponent not named Deontay Wilder for three years.
And Whyte was comfortably second best on the night, eventually being stopped by a ruthless right-handed uppercut at the end of round six, though he has since claimed that he hit his head on the canvas after a two-handed shove from Fury that followed the final blow and that the knockout was therefore “illegal”.
Whyte was behind on all three judges scorecards at the time of the stoppage, but not by as much as many expected. While Robert Tapper had it 50-45 in Fury’s favour after five rounds, fellow judge Guido Cavalleri scored the first round for Whyte - who sprang a surprise by starting in the southpaw stance - and Juan Carlos Pelayo gave him rounds two and three.
And the 34-year-old is adamant that he was not shown up by Fury on the night and will not be considering walking away from boxing.
“I’m not one of those guys that wants to go out on a loss or a bad performance. Listen, I’m still young enough, I’ve still got a lot left in me. I still feel strong, I’m still getting better,” he told Sky Sports.
“I fought the best in the world and I wasn’t outclassed. I wasn’t outclassed or outboxed. He’s a bit taller than me and the range was a bit tricky, because of the style it’s hard to get guys to prepare for him because he’s awkward in the way he fights.
“I wasn’t outclassed, I landed mine and he landed his. Had I got beaten up for four or five rounds and completely outclassed, then I’d have been like yeah, it’s time to call it a day. But I wasn’t outclassed.”
Fury again strongly hinted at retirement after securing his 32nd professional victory at Wembley, though the general consensus remains that it will be impossible for the self-proclaimed ‘Gypsy King’ to turn down a lucrative undisputed showdown against either Oleksandr Usyk or Anthony Joshua, who look set to stage a rematch for the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles in Saudi Arabia on July 23.
Whyte says he hopes Fury does not retire as he seeks revenge, believing that he is only a win away from being straight back in world title contention.
“It’s not a long hard road back because I showed the level I am,” Whyte added. “We sold 90-something thousand tickets together, it’s not him or me alone.
“I had a value going in before anyway. I’ve had loads of pay-per-view fights, they all sell out and they’ve all been good fights. I’m still there, I’m still good enough. One fight and I’m back.”
