By Charles Brun: Dillian Whyte is bitterly complaining, making a big fuss over the rematch clause for his fight with Anthony Joshua on August 12th in the UK.
Whyte sounds deluded, thinking he can swap places with Joshua by taking his spot in Saudi Arabia in December by beating him. That’s not how it works.
What the 35-year-old Whyte (29-3, 19 KOs) doesn’t realize is the Saudis likely DON’T want him for December for their card. They want the popular AJ, and it doesn’t matter if Whyte wins.
The British journeyman Whyte wants a one-fight deal so that if he beats Joshua (25-3, 22 KOs), he can move on, take his spot against Deontay Wilder in Saudi Arabia in December, and make untold riches from that fight.
So even if Whyte beats the former two-time heavyweight champion, Joshua, the Saudis won’t want to use him on their card as the opponent for Deontay Wilder. Why?
Because Whyte has essentially lost three out of his last four fights, with two knockout losses to Tyson Fury and 40-year-old Alexander Povetkin.
“I don’t want that, I just want a simple contract, simple fight, winner moves on and has a big fight in Saudi Arabia,” said Dillian Whyte to talkSPORT Boxing about his rematch with Anthony Joshua.
“This fight for me is about the opportunity; it’s not about the money; that’s why I’m taking the fight for the money they’ve offered me.”
The way things are looking, Whyte is going to lose out on the rematch with Joshua due to the major production he’s making about the contract. What’s interesting is Whyte doesn’t seem to realize how weak his position is to ask for anything in the negotiations with Joshua.
Whyte is coming off a controversial twelve round majority decision win over Jermaine Franklin last November in a fight that the boxing world saw him losing.
With Dillian’s last four fights, if you’re the Saudis, do you really want to use him for their December card if he’s victorious against the vulnerable Joshua? I think not.
The whole purpose of the Saudi using Joshua for December is his popularity worldwide. Whyte isn’t even popular in his own country in, the UK, so why on earth would the Saudis want to place him on their card in December?
“Now they’re trying to put a rematch clause in there that ties me up for a year,” said Whyte. “I’m going to press the fight from the first bell. I’ve got nothing to lose. I want to go to war with him.”
https://youtu.be/Gobt0A7X9Ug?t=52