Dillian Whyte has spoken out for the first time since his brutal sixth round stoppage defeat to Tyson Fury at Wembley Stadium.
The 'Body Snatcher' ended his wait of over 1700 days to challenge for the world title against the champion in front of a record 94,000 crow. However a stiff uppercut from Fury landed in the sixth stanza which sent him to the canvas and he was unable to recover which handed Fury his latest victory.
Whyte has now admitted that one big slip led to the uppercut that ended the fight but he felt the rounds were close before the stoppage. He told BBC Radio: "There wasn't a lot in it - it was a close fight and I didn't feel like I was outclassed in there. My game plan was to press him and start moving forward. I was trying to attack but one slip and I got caught with the shot.
"He's a big awkward guy - I was expecting that. It was always going to be an awkward fight, but I was trying to set up and be patient and land what I could early and from round three onwards start to press. It was a good learning experience."
Whyte's future now looks uncertain after facing being frozen out of the world title picture for the first time in several years after missing out on the opportunity to snatch the coveted WBC crown. He remained respectful with his rival throughout the fight build-up and came into the fight as the significant underdog.
The uppercut came in the sixth round with Whyte unable to convince referee Mark Lyson he was able to continue, after stumbling desperately across the ring in an attempt to beat the count with one second left until the halfway point. Despite the brutal nature of the defeat, Fury has backed his rival to return to the ring better than ever and become world champion.
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"Dillian is a warrior and I believe he will be a world champion," Fury said about Whyte after his victory. "One of the greatest and, unfortunately, he had to fight me tonight. You are not messing with a mediocre heavyweight, you are messing with the best man on the planet.
The fight with Whyte was a dominant evening's work for Fury who controlled the exchanges from the opening bell due to his range and significant size difference.However the 'Gypsy King' accused his rival of cheating throughout by using elbows and head-butting in a bid to close the distance.
“He tried to make it rough, fair play to him, he was trying to man handle me in there," Fury said after the fight. “He tried hitting me with elbows, head, he tried nutting me, done a Wladimir Klitschko on me. He was trying everything. He was using forearms, trying to elbow me. When you try and cheat in a fight, you always come up second best."
