Dillian Whyte has hit out at Anthony Joshua's "b*******" decision to face Jermaine Franklin in his heavyweight comeback.
Joshua has not fought since losing in his rematch to Oleksandr Usyk last August, but his promoter Eddie Hearn suggested Whyte would get the call for his comeback fight. The 'Body Snatcher' appeared to set up the clash by narrowly defeating American heavyweight Franklin in December.
However after months of negotiations following Joshua's appointment of new trainer Derrick James, terms are understood to be agreed with Franklin for the fight to take place on April 1 at London's O2 Arena. Whyte has been left fuming after news broke that he would miss out on a second meeting, but has stated he is not shocked by the choice.
"I am all right but facing the usual b******s, I just want to make some fights but it’s f***ing frustrating," Whyte told The Sun when responding to Joshua's fight with Franklin being close to announcement. "Everyone was told, all the boxing fans, the winner of me and Franklin fights AJ, so this is a f***ed up thing. I would have been better off losing the Franklin fight and getting the AJ fight!
"It’s protecting AJ because they all know if he loses again he will probably jack it in and a lot of people will be left with limp d***s in their hands. I know DAZN need content for their subscribers but why choose to fight a low-profile American coming off a loss instead of having a massive British tear-up?
"It’s no surprise to me that they have chosen April 1 for this battle of the fools. I faced Franklin, the most dangerous and undefeated version of him, and beat him. Eddie was promising him many millions to fight AJ if he beat me."
Would you like to see a rematch between Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte? Let us know in the comments section below
Whyte and Joshua had already agreed to a second showdown when they bumped into each other in a chance meeting in London, and Joshua was ringside for Whyte's win over Franklin. The former two-time champion Joshua is currently in the US preparing for his comeback in which he will need a win after losing twice to Usyk.
A second meeting with Whyte could then crop up in the summer if Joshua is to pick up victory in his comeback, but a whole host of other options could also appear including a shot at Deontay Wilder. And promoter Hearn believes it will still happen in a stadium later this year.
“AJ wants a big fight in the summer, and the one that makes sense should be quite straightforward to make is the rematch with Dillian Whyte,” he told iFL TV. “We’re open to every fight in the summer, but yeah, in my mind, with AJ fighting in April and Dillian probably fighting around the same time, that would lead them to a big all-British heavyweight fight in the summer."
