Dillian Whyte v Anthony Joshua II at Wembley has “80 per cent” chance of happening
Dillian Whyte insists he will not sit waiting for a rematch with Anthony Joshua – with the duo’s promoter Eddie Hearn rating a clash between the pair at Wembley Stadium next year at 80 per cent.
Brixton’s Whyte produced a devastating knockout of Dereck Chisora at Greenwich’s 02 Arena last night in the 11th round.
The South Londoner was behind by a point on two of the judges scorecards – despite Chisora being penalised two points for use of his head and an elbow.
Joshua, who holds all of the world titles apart from the WBC strap, stepped up on to the ring apron to talk about a return with Whyte. But he also made clear that the priority was to try and negotiate a unification with American Deontay Wilder.
Wilder holds that last belt but could be set for a rematch with Tyson Fury after their draw in the States recently.
Whyte seemed angry at Joshua’s stance and stormed out of the ring. When the pair met at British title level it saw Joshua hurt for the first time in his career – although he came back to knock Whyte out in 2015.
Whyte said: “I can’t sit around and wait for him. I’m not wasting three or four months of my career waiting for what he’s doing. I haven’t got time for that. My careers needs to progress. Time’s ticking.
“We were supposed to hear about the Joshua fight directly after Wilder-Fury, what was supposed to happen, and there’s nothing again, so I can’t sit around and wait.
“The guy’s making a lot of money – he’s got four belts, I don’t think he really cares. It’s about what he’s doing. He’s the man at the moment. I’m sure Eddie doesn’t want the golden egg to get cracked.”
Hearn said: “Joshua wants the undisputed fight [with Wilder] but he also wants to fight Dillian Whyte. He got up on the ring – it’s quite unusual for him to do that. There’s a very, very good chance that will be next.
“Dillian deserves a world title shot and he’s in his prime or approaching his prime, and that’s the time to fight. Him and AJ is a brilliant fight.
“We haven’t got long (to make Joshua’s next fight). I’m sure we’ll be on the phone to Dillian within the next week. The priority is he wants to fight Wilder, but I don’t believe that will happen. If it’s an April 13 date at Wembley you’ll need it on sale at the end of January. He’s 80 per cent likely to fight at Wembley on April 13.
“[Wilder’s team are] not showing a lot of willingness.”