By Tim Royner: Heavyweight Tom Little says Dillian Whyte has improved to the point where he would pick him to defeat Anthony Joshua if the two fought now. Little (10-7, 3 KOs), who is fighting on the December 7 card, sparred recently with both Joshua, and Whyte, and he says Whyte is the more improved fighter of the two.
Journeyman Little, 32, says he has doubts whether Joshua will win his rematch against IBF/WBA/WBO champion Andy Ruiz Jr. on the December 7 card in Saudi.
If it’s gotten to the point where even Whyte can beat Joshua, then that doesn’t bode too well for AJ’s chances of defeating Andy Ruiz Jr.
Whyte is facing Mariusz Wach (35-5, 19 KOs) in a 10 round bout on the Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr. card on December 7th. For his part, Little is facing two-time Olympian Mahammadrasul Majidov in an eight round fight on the undercard.
What’s interesting is Little has the far tougher fight than Whyte, and that’s kind of crazy. Whyte is the one that the better talent, and yet he’s facing 39-year-old Wach while Little is in with talented two-time Olympian. Something is wrong with this picture.
Little picks Whyte to beat Joshua
After sparring AJ and Dillian, Little says Joshua would lose to Whyte now. The two aren’t likely to fight each other anytime soon, so things could change by the time they face each other again. But for now, Little is giving Whyte (26-1, 18 KOs) the edge.
“Both of them are my pals, and I hope they don’t take this personally. If they do, I don’t really care,” said Little to PepTalkUK in revealing who the tougher fighter is between Joshua and Whyte. “Listen, it’s sparring, and from what I’ve seen with my own eyes, honestly is the best policy.
“I’m not saying just because Dean [Whyte] is here, because I’ve never been an a– kisser for as long as I’ve drawn a breath, but Dillian is the more improved fighter.
“I’m not saying I’m right, but I’ve been around boxing pretty much my entire adult and my child life. Dillian is the more improved, and the more polished article. He’s got more strings to his bow, that’s what I believe. I’ve sparred both of them recently, and I did say that. If you look at what Dillian has been doing, and you look at what Joshua is doing,” said Little.
We only go on the fact that Whyte lost to Joshua by a 7th round knockout in 2015, and he’s struggled recently against Dereck Chisora, Oscar Rivas and Joseph Parker. Whyte might be a better fighter during sparring matches than he did during the real thing, because if he’s as good as Little things he is, he shouldn’t have had such a hard time against Rivas, Chisora and Parker.
Tom has doubts about Joshua beating Ruiz
“I can see what they’re working on, and it’s a fight fight,” said Little in discussing the Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr. rematch. “It’s not going to be easy as the first time, and it’s going to be a lot harder the second.Ruiz has got momentum, and he’s got psychological. ‘I done you.’ So for me, my prediction, my heart tells me Joshua, because that’s what I want, but my brain has that doubt,” said Little.
Ruiz (33-1, 22 KOs) is hard to bet against in the rematch with AJ, because he dominated last June.