By Jake Tiernan: David Haye thinks that it’s important that Anthony Joshua fight Dillian Whyte as a tune-up to prepare him for his much tougher clash against Deontay Wilder in December in Saudi Arabia.
Haybe believes it’s not a good thing for Joshua (25-3, 22 KOs) to sit inactive from his last fight in April against Jermaine Franklin until his clash against the former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder in December in Saudi Arabia.
That’s eight months of inactivity for the 33-year-old Joshua, which Haybe feels diminishes AJ’s chances of success against the big-punching Wilder.
With the massive payday Joshua is expected to get from the Saudis fighting Wilder, it doesn’t make much sense for him to risk that kind of money by fighting a still dangerous 35-year-old Whyte, whose career is a dumpster fire.
Joshua-Whyte will make AJ excellent money, but it would entail a lot of risk for Joshua because Whyte would be swinging for the fences, knowing that if he knocks out Joshua, he could be the one that faces Wilder in December in Saudi Arabia and makes a huge bundle of cash.
For a mediocre journeyman like Whyte, it would be a dream come true because it would give him a payday that he would never get if he had to work for it by going through some of the talented contenders like Jared Anderson, Zhilei Zhang, and Filip Hrgovic.
“If he can’t beat Dillian Whyte, then what’s it all about then. Why does he think he can beat Wilder?” said David Haye to iFL TV about Anthony Joshua.
“If he believes he can beat Wilder, then fight Dillian. Why not? It’s a great fight for the fans. Dillian comes to bring it. There will be a lot of people that believe Dillian will be able to cause the upset.
“It’ll be a lot more intense than Franklin the other night, which was like a sparring session. For sure, 100%, get in there,” said Haye when asked if he would take the risky fight with Whyte as a tune-up for mega-payday against Deontay Wilder in December.
“The last fight [against Whyte in 2015], he won it, but it was an entertaining fight for the fans. That’s what boxing is about. It’s about entertainment and putting money in the bank, and that fight does it.
“It’s a great pay-per-view fight, and both fighters are coming off of wins against the same guy [Franklin]. So let’s fight. It’s an all-British clash. It makes perfect sense, and then that leads into Wilder. It’s so obvious.
“If you’re not taking that fight, then why aren’t you taking that fight? That’s the thing. If you don’t want to fight Dillian Whyte, why the hell are you fighting Wilder?
“You’re diminishing your chances of victory by being out of the ring. If Wilder wants to take that much time out of the ring, okay, but if Anthony [Joshua] wants to give himself the best chance of victory, he needs to be active against a fighter that throws big hooks.
“Dillian throws some of the best hooks in the business. His left hook is one of the best in the game, for sure, right now. Why not go out and prove it against someone that is dangerous? If he catches AJ with that left hook, you saw what happened last time [in the Joshua-Whyte fight in 2015].
“Remember, Dillian had one arm that first time. He didn’t have a right hand in that first fight. He has a right hand now. It’s definitely a fight that I think should have been made.
“I think it’s perfect. They both fought the same guy. Now fight each other and then the winner fights Wilder [in December in Saudi Arabia]. That’s what I would do,” said Haye about what he believes Joshua should do.
