British heavyweight Dillian Whyte is targeting a ‘trilogy’ fight with Anthony Joshua as he vows to retire his bitter rival.
The heavyweight duo first clashed on the amateur circuit 16-years ago, as ‘The Bodysnatcher’ claimed a points victory over a novice Joshua who hadn’t long had his first contest when the pair met.
Their bitter feud was reignited in December 2015 when ‘AJ’ captured the vacant British heavyweight title with an explosive 7th-round knockout victory over Whyte, who had rocked Joshua in the second round before eventually suffering the first defeat of his professional career.
Their highly anticipated rematch was due to happen in August 2023, but was cancelled after Whyte returned an adverse finding in a doping test. Finnish heavyweight Robert Helenius stepped in and was knocked out in seven rounds. Whyte was later cleared to box after an investigation found it was a contaminated supplement that caused the findings.
Joshua is expected to return to the ring for the first time since suffering a shock knockout defeat to IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois last September, with Whyte putting himself forward to face his rival as he vows to finally send him into retirement.
Speaking to Sky Sports Boxing, ‘The Bodysnatcher’ welcomed the idea of facing the 35-year-old for the third time, but claimed he is ‘finished’ after that defeat to Dubois.
20 September 2024
Picture By Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing
“If he wants to fight, then all they’ve got to do is call me. I’m always up for fighting AJ. No problem for me. However, personally, I think he’s finished. I think he made a huge mistake not taking the immediate rematch with Dubois. It was a world title fight, a great payday and the perfect opportunity to avenge his knockout loss.”
“Me and him will always be a good fight. We just have that chemistry. I don’t want to lose to him, he doesn’t want to lose to me, and we want to prove each other wrong. We want to knock each other out so it will always be a good fight.
“Eddie [Hearn] has publicly stated Joshua could fight me next, but whether he will or not I don’t know whether he or his people want it, then we wait to see. I would love to retire him.”
Whyte returned to the ring in December when he knocked out Ebenezer Tetteh in Gibraltar. The 36-year-old is keen on returning to the ring as soon as possible, with a fight date and opponent expected to be announced in due course.
