FOLLOWING his eye-catching highlight-reel knockout of Lucas Browne in the sixth round, Dillian Whyte is now firmly in the mix at the top end of the heavyweight division. As the highest-ranked challenger in the WBC ratings, the Brixton “Body Snatcher” has his sights set on the king of that organisation – unbeaten American Deontay Wilder.
“I’m happy that I was able to make a real statement to Deontay Wilder,” Whyte told Boxing News. “It was my debut on [major US TV network] HBO, and the Americans love a good knockout. Browne was a big, strong, undefeated guy – a puncher. Some people were writing me off before the fight, but I got the job done in style, so I can’t really ask for more than that.”
While Whyte is eager for the opportunity to challenge Wilder, he does not believe that the heavy-handed champ is keen on the fight. In fact, he feels that the Alabamian is running scared.
“At the minute, I don’t know [whether the Wilder clash will happen], because the guy is terrified of me,” Whyte opined. “Sometimes as a fighter, you just know when someone’s got the beating of you, whether it be because of their style or their mindset. I think Wilder just knows that I’ve got the perfect style to beat him.”
Wilder’s fellow world heavyweight titlists – Anthony Joshua (WBA and IBF) and Joseph Parker (WBO) – meet in a unification bout this weekend, and “The Bronze Bomber” has made no secret of the fact that he would like to oppose the winner in a battle for ‘undisputed champion’ status. However, Whyte sees a fundamental flaw in this plan.
“I doubt he’d be able to fight Joshua or Parker anytime soon. Neither of them would be ready to fight for another four or five months at least, and they’ll have other commitments with mandatories,” Whyte pointed out.
“Wilder just needs to quit stalling. People want to see him in a good fight. I’m here, I’m the number-one contender, so why doesn’t he want to fight me? He’ll probably end up fighting [California’s former Joshua victim] Dominic Breazeale or someone like that. No one wants to see that fight – no one cares about it.”
In the event that he fails to lure Wilder into the ring, Whyte has pinpointed “Kubrat Pulev, Breazeale and even a potential rematch with Dereck Chisora” as possible alternative options. Nevertheless, he is well aware that the Wilder bout is the one that everyone wants to witness.
“People want me to fight Wilder. There aren’t a lot of other fights out there that people want to see me in,” Whyte stated. “If it doesn’t happen, it’ll be through no fault of my own. It’s Wilder who’s messing about.
“He says I’m an easy fight for him and he can beat me with one arm tied behind his back, but every time the fight gets mentioned and every time there’s a chance for him to fight me, he’s not interested. We’re offering him more money than he’s ever got. I don’t know what else we can do. I can only do my best to try to deliver the fight.”
