By Trevor McIntyre: Dillian Whyte is highly upset that Anthony Joshua isn’t making the move to setup a fight against him on April 13 following his second win over Dereck Chisora in their recent rematch last month on December 22. Whyte (25-1, 18 KOs) feels that he should be getting the fight with AJ on April 13 at Wembley Stadium, but instead he could be pushed to the side in favor of a Joshua vs. Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller fight.
“I think AJ is going into the business now thinking, ‘I can have mediocre, easy fights and still make a load of money’ so why not?” Whyte said to The Sports Bar.
Assuming Joshua does face the unbeaten Miller (23-0-1, 20 KOs) next on April 13 or in May, that’s hardly a “mediocre” opponent. The 315 pound Miller is unbeaten, and one of the top five heavyweights in the division. Miller may or may not be at the level of the elite fighters like Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury, Whyte or Luis ‘King Kong’ Ortiz, but he’s close to those guys. There would be no shame in Joshua facing Miller in his next fight. On the business side, Miller is a great option for Joshua to fight to get a nice payday while at the same time increasing his popularity with the American boxing fans. The fight that Joshua wants to build is the Deontay Wilder match-up. The best way for Joshua to do that is to face Miller first, and then look to fight Wilder afterwards, if he beats Fury in their rematch this year.
Whyte, 30, is peeved right now that he’s not been contacted by Joshua for a fight between them on April 13. It was thought that Whyte would be next for Joshua on that date, as long as he got passed Chisora in their rematch on December 22. Whyte did what he had to do in stopping Chisora in the eleventh round on Sky Box Office at the O2 Arena in London, UK. When Joshua entered the ring the fight, it was thought that he and his promoter Eddie Hearn would then announce the fight against Whyte on April 13. Instead of doing that, Joshua let Whyte know that he’s the number three guy in the queue. Joshua wants Wilder or Fury next. At that time, Miller wasn’t mentioned by Joshua. But with Wilder now looking to face Fury next, those two are out of the running to face Joshua. Miller has suddenly jumped in front of Whyte in the line for the lottery fight to face Joshua. Whyte is not surprisingly upset with Joshua. Why did Joshua even bother to get inside the ring after the Chisora fight if he wasn’t interested in facing him? It was a strange move by Joshua.
Whyte is saying he’s hearing from his sources that Joshua will be facing Miller next. Hearn isn’t coming out to deny that rumor, and that only strengthens the belief that Miller will be the one that Joshua faces next. It puts Whyte in a bad spot, as now he has to look in another direction for an opponent.
“I called him out there live thinking the fight could be made and I was very disappointed with Anthony’s response,” Whyte said. “I was ready for him to say ‘Okay, let’s get it on.’ Wilder is not going to fight him because he doesn’t want it and is fighting Tyson Fury. But from his answer – and the way he was acting – I think AJ might want the fight, but I don’t think his team wants the fight,” Whyte said.
Whyte could be wrong about Joshua’s team being behind him not taking the rematch with him. Hearn clearly wants Joshua to fight Whyte next. Joshua hasn’t seemed excited about that fight, and he’s made that clear more than once. When he talks about Whyte, Joshua just doesn’t see excited about the match. Joshua has already beaten Whyte obviously, so it would be a case of him going over old ground to take a fight with someone he already defeated. It could be that Joshua feels that none of Whyte’s wins since his loss to him in 2015 are big enough victories to make a fight between them a compelling one. Whyte has won his last nine fights since his loss to Joshua. The best wins of that bunch have been victories over Dereck Chisora, Lucas ‘Big Daddy’ Browne, Robert Helenius and Joseph Parker. Those are good fighters, but they’re not guys that are viewed as super talents. There’s not a dangerous fighter like Luis Ortiz on Whyte’s recent resume. That’s a fighter that Whyte needs to beat for him to be seen as a serious threat to Joshua, but he doesn’t want to fight Ortiz.
Whyte is going to have to wait his turn before he gets a fight with Joshua. He’s already had one fight, and he failed to perform well in losing by a seventh round knockout. Whyte only has himself to blame for losing that fight. If Whyte was injury free and in better shape, he might have beaten Joshua on the night. Whyte will have to wait for Joshua to turn his attention to him. When that opportunity does come about, Whyte needs to be free of injuries and in tip top shape if he wants to beat Joshua. If Whyte loses to Joshua again, it’s unlikely he’ll get a third shot.