Dillian Whyte has dismissed suggestions that he was knocked out or dropped by upcoming opponent Tyson Fury in old sparring sessions between the pair.
The British heavyweights will clash at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night, as Fury defends the WBC title against someone with whom he is very familiar.
Fury, 33, and Whyte, 34, sparred with one another earlier in their careers, with Fury having said often in the build-up to Saturday’s main event that he dominated his compatriot in those encounters.
“Tyson Fury’s never knocked me out and never dropped me,” Whyte told The Independent columnist Steve Bunce in an interview with BT Sport this week.
“Ask him about the rest of the sparring. He’s never held his hands up and said: ‘I never knocked him down or dropped him or anything like that.’ But I can hold my hands up and say: ‘Tyson Fury’s never knocked me out, knocked me down, or dropped me ever.’
“There have been times in sparring where he’s outboxed me, because I never had no experience. He was a really top amateur when I had no fights; I was learning, I was improving.
“I’m a realist, I got outboxed sometimes, but I put hands on your man – simple as that.”
Whyte (28-2, 19 knockouts) last boxed in March 2021, knocking out Alexander Povetkin to avenge his own stoppage defeat by the Russian from August 2020. Fury, meanwhile, last fought in October, stopping Deontay Wilder for the second fight in a row to round out their trilogy and remain unbeaten at 31-0-1 (22 KOs).
When asked whether Fury’s height advantage will play a role at Wembley, Whyte said: “We’ll find out, you know. Listen, I’m probably one of the strongest boxers to ever live – physically – in any era.
“I’m not someone that says these things lightly. He’s a big guy, he’s taller than me, he’s this that and the other, but Tyson Fury’s not the most physically strong guy.
“Look how long it took him to finish Wilder. Wilder was gone after three rounds, Wilder was breathing out of his a** after three rounds.”
Whyte seemed to be referencing Fury’s second fight with Wilder, in which the Briton stopped the American in the seventh round, having dominated the then-champion throughout the bout.
In the rivals’ trilogy fight, Fury survived two knockdowns – as he had in their initial clash, a controversial split draw – to finish Wilder in the 11th round.
BT Sport Box Office will show Fury vs Whyte exclusively live on Saturday 23 April from 6pm BST. For more information go to bt.com/sportboxoffice
