Brixton world heavyweight contender Whyte: My shoulder injury is genuine

Brixton world heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte has trashed claims he faked injury to pull out of his fight against Otto Wallin – and wants to face WBC champion Tyson Fury next.

Whyte, 32, last week withdrew from this Saturday’s bout with a shoulder injury, with Sweden’s Wallin.

His promoter insisted the fight be rescheduled but that now looks unlikely.

“This is a no-brainer – Tyson Fury is considered the best heavyweight ever,” Whyte told BBC Five Live’s Boxing podcast. “So fight him or fight somebody who doesn’t even know how to speak properly.

“All he does is cry. Him and [promoter Dmitriy] Salita cry like babies.

“Crying he’s lost £15,000 on training camp. I spent 10 times the amount of that on training camp.”

The WBC recently announced plans to order their champion Fury, 33, to defend his belt against their interim title holder – Whyte.

The former kickboxer will remain that, even after pulling out of the Wallin fight.

Former Earlsfield Amateur Boxing Club graduate Joe Joyce is another possible option for Fury.

Wallin wants to see evidence of Whyte’s injury but Whyte said: ”People know I don’t pull out of fights.

“My shoulder just completely shut down – I was in pain. Come out of the ring and said something’s not right here.

“This ain’t right for me to complain about. We went and did an MRI [scan] the next day and it showed my shoulder was way worse than I thought it was. I wanted to fight.

“I said if we managed it, got an injection before the fight, I’ll fight. I didn’t want to pull out. But no, because you get idiots like Salita and Wallin talking crap.

“Wallin was a hand-picked cherry. He wasn’t a voluntary, he was just someone I picked.

“I wanted to fight. I begged them to fight. If I need surgery after, I need surgery after. I’ve done it before, nothing new to me.”

Whyte will take the rest of the year off to recover from the injury and hopes to fight Fury next spring.

Whyte said: ”It’s Wallin or Fury next. Of course Wallin is going to be upset. He’s spent money he thought he was going to earn. Many times I’ve had fights fall through, you can’t be upset.

“This is an investment in your career and your future. I see why he’s upset. Some fighters don’t dodge fights, some fighters don’t pull out of fights.

“But in that time, if a potential better opportunity comes up, I’ve been waiting to fight for the world title. I’m not going to put it off to fight Otto Wallin.”

Cruiserweight star Richard Riakporhe, hot off his victory earlier this month against Krzysztof Twardowski, will headline at Wembley Arena on November 20.

The Walworth-raised star will face the WBC number-five-ranked hard-hitting Nigerian Olanrewaju Durodola.

Lewisham’s undefeated hitter Dan Azeez faces off against Carrington rival Hosea Burton in an exciting shoot-out with the Vacant British Light-Heavyweight Championship on the line.